Little Witch Academia Origins - A Believing Heart
by Tania Hylian
Summary: How had she met Croix? It was a question Ursula had been expecting Akko to make sooner rather than later, and had also dreaded it. Because with the good memories came the ones filled with treason, anger and disappointment. However, she still told her everything about her past; about how Croix had begun tutoring her, only for them to become friends and, eventually, something more.
1. Seeking help

**A/N: I've been writing this story for a while now, and I wanted to upload it only after I'd finished writing the six words (I've got five). But since today is the first day of Charoix week and this first chapter fits the prompt, I decided, why not? I hope you like it :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Seeking help.**

Akko skipped up the stairs towards the room of her favorite teacher. It had been only two weeks since the seal of the Grand Triskallion had been broken, and everything was finally starting to resemble normality at Luna Nova. Her classmates no longer pestered her and the other six youngest members of the Nine New Witches for details about how they had stopped the missile. The professors had stopped swooning over Diana's performance during such event (mostly because of the insistence of said girl). Akko kept struggling with homework and getting chastised even more than usual (because apparently now that she was one of the Nine New Witches, she had a responsibility to be _at_ _least_ as good as Diana). And she was slowly but surely learning how to fly.

The most notorious changes were Croix's absence and… Professor Ursula's new look. Akko still hadn't gotten used to it. But at least she was nicer than ever to Akko, and had promised to keep tutoring her whenever possible.

That day was one of those days. While normally she'd meet the teacher at the gardens outside the school, so she could practice her spells without danger of hurting anyone, today was different because she had to prepare for the theoretical exams, and being out on the fields wouldn't help her with that. So she was meeting her at the Astronomy Tower.

As soon as she arrived, she opened the door without knocking, knowing her professor was already expecting her, and exclaimed loudly her exited greeting.

"Hi, Ursula-sens…! Uhm… Chariot-sensei." Akko amended sheepishly. The red-haired woman, who was sitting at her desk, turned to look at her and gave her a gentle smile.

"I told you, Akko: you may call me whatever you feel comfortable with." She answered, fully aware that, given everything that had happened, this whole situation could be more than a little awkward for her student. Even if Akko _had_ been the one who convinced her to abandon all pretense and just admit her real name was Chariot du Nord.

"Right. Sorry, it's just taking some time to get used to this." Akko answered as she sat down at the chair next to her professor. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask, why Ursula? Not that I don't like the name, but it's too different from Chariot." Akko asked, and to her credit, Chariot didn't even raise an eyebrow at the sudden question. She was used to them by now.

"It was mostly because of the Ursa Major constellation." She answered, knowing Akko wouldn't have been able to concentrate if she hadn't.

"That's the Shiny Rod constellation, right?" Akko asked.

"Exactly." The professor nodded and gave her a gentle smile. "Besides, _Ursa_ in Latin means she-bear. And one of my familiars, Arcas, is a polar bear." She explained patiently. "I believe you met him at the Fountain of Polaris."

"Oh, yes, I do remember Arcas. He almost ate me!" Akko exclaimed dramatically before giggling cheerily, the professor joining in.

"Well, now let's take a look at your notes, shall we?" Chariot said before Akko could cause another distraction, and took the notebooks from the young witch's hands, setting them on her desk and opening up one of them. "Your first exam is… numerology?" She asked as she read Akko's messy handwriting, barely being able to understand a thing. More so considering some of the notes at the margin were in Japanese. The brunette girl just answered with a distracted hum.

"I remember you telling me you were having difficulties with it. Do you have any specific questions? Or do you prefer that we go through everything before touching individual subjects?" When a few seconds passed without answer, the professor sighed internally, knowing Akko had probably already been distracted by something else. She turned to see her student and, sure enough, her stare was fixed on a spot on the wall. A spot that had a recently-added picture hanging from a nail. A picture of two young girls.

"Akko?" She asked, hoping to get her attention off of said picture. The girl blinked and turned to look at her with curiosity shining in her crimson eyes.

"Is that… Croix-sensei?" She asked with obvious interest.

"Yes. Though back then she wasn't a professor." Chariot answered with a light giggle. "Now, let's get back to numerology…" She tried to redirect the conversation to the academic terrain and away from her personal life, but Akko interrupted her.

"She looks grumpy." Akko commented, continuing to eye the picture intently. "So different from how she is now."

"Believe it or not, she's actually smiling in that picture." The professor said as a fond smile of her own formed on her face when she looked at her old friend.

"You two appear to be very different." Akko commented, still looking at the photo as if she was expecting it to answer all of her questions by itself. "How did you become friends?" She asked, noticing how cheerful and energetic Chariot appeared to be, compared to the serious-looking girl with the glasses.

"Akko." Chariot sighed. "Now is really not the time to talk about this. You need to study." Akko pouted at her.

"But… I really want to know more about you." She protested. "I want to know how you became friends with Croix, and how was your life at Luna Nova. I want to know how you obtained the shiny rod and the six words of Arcturus. And…" She paused, unsure if she should be asking the next thing, but soon enough her curiosity grew inside her to the point she couldn't contain it. "I want to know how you became Shiny Chariot!" She couldn't keep the enthusiasm from showing all over her face, a big smile firmly on place.

Chariot, however, was having mixed feelings. On one hand, she knew Akko had a right to know, since she had lied to her for so long, not only about who she was, but about what she had done to her and about her knowledge on the words of Arcturus. On the other hand, many of those memories were now bittersweet, thanks to everything Croix had done. And also, Akko needed to study, not to hear stories from her professor's school days.

"Pleaaase?" Akko insisted, making her best puppy dog eyes and pouting so adorably Chariot wondered how someone could ever deny a thing to this girl. So she sighed, resigning herself to make a compromise.

"Okay, how about this: We study for two hours, and if at the end you manage to answer my questions correctly, I'll tell you how I met Croix."

Akko remained pouting for a few more seconds, but thankfully she relented at the end, apparently realizing that she really needed her professor's help studying, _and_ that she wouldn't get her questions answered otherwise.

"Okay. Deal." She finally said, grinning as happily as always and extending her hand for the professor to shake.

"Deal." Chariot confirmed, shaking her hand.

* * *

"Twelve out of twenty." The professor announced once she finished grading the small test she'd made for her student. "Not bad, but I really think you could do better."

"I'm tired." Akko pouted.

"Well, then I guess you no longer wish to hear the story about how I met Croix." Chariot teased, already knowing what would be Akko's answer.

"Oh! Yes, please Ursula-sensei!" She said with a wide smile. That was the whole reason she had studied so thoroughly, after all.

"Very well." Chariot chuckled. Truth to be told, she had been debating with herself whether or not she should tell Akko about her past. But after seeing how focused and disciplined she was being, just so she could hear her story, she had pushed past her fears, doubts and shame. It was about time she started being more open with her favorite student.

"Alright, where should I start?" She asked herself, pausing and watching as Akko got comfortable in the chair and regarded her with more interest than she'd ever put in any of her classes. She smiled at this, already glad about her decision. "Well… First thing you should know, when I started attending Luna Nova, I was a troublemaker." Chariot giggled. "Not on purpose, of course, but most of my spells tended to go haywire half the time."

"Oh, I know!" Akko interrupted her. "The Fountain of Polaris showed me."

"The Fountain of…?" Chariot started questioning, before realization downed on her. "Oh. Of course." She sighed, embarrassed that her student had seen her like that. Still, she knew it had probably helped Akko in her own journey, so it was okay. "Anyways. It had only been a week since the classes had started, and I was already in danger of being expelled, so I decided to seek help."

* * *

I did it again. This time during potions class. We were supposed to do a little flick with the wand in order to infuse the levitation potion with magic, but I did it clockwise, instead of counterclockwise, and as a result the brew exploded. As in, a big, smoky explosion that managed to destroy one of the cauldrons. Might have also had something to do with me applying a bit more fern-flower pollen than it said in the book… but it just gave the potion such a pretty color!

But anyways, the reason doesn't really matter, because it still earned me yet another visit to the headmistress's office. Yet another scolding. And not only from the professors either; my teammates are getting sick of me by now, and I've heard they even asked to be assigned another partner. This is so wrong! I never thought learning magic could be so difficult!

"Can you stop whining already? You're not letting me concentrate." Amelia, a blonde girl with short hair, soft features and a rather thin complexion, sends me a glare from the desk at which she'd been sitting at, studying for tomorrow's class.

"I wouldn't be whining if you hadn't been so harsh on me." I answer with a pout.

"We wouldn't need to be harsh if you hadn't almost blown the potions lab up _and_ gotten us yet another failing grade." My other teammate, Karen, answers from her spot at the bottom bunk, which is across from my bed. She was laying on it, reading a book, but now is looking up to shoot daggers at me with those cold green eyes of her. Honestly, if she wasn't so scary I think she could be pretty, with her straight and long brown hair and her princess-like manners. But alas, she's been nothing but rude to me ever since the day we met… which may or may not have something to do with me setting her broom on fire (long story).

"I'm sorry, okay?" I say for the millionth time, sitting on the edge of my bed and glaring at my teammates. "I didn't intend for that to happen. How was I supposed to know that fern pollen was explosive?!"

"That's basic witch knowledge." Amelia deadpans before deciding to turn back to look at whatever she had been previously working on.

"Which I lack." I remind her. "And that also isn't my fault."

"Yeah, yeah, your complicated family history, or whatever." Karen rolls her eyes, clearly irritated. "That doesn't change the fact that you're so behind in every single subject that you should be in magical kindergarten."

"That's a thing?" I ask, wishing I'd known sooner. Then maybe I wouldn't be so lost when it comes to magic.

"No." She deadpans.

"Oh." I pout. Seriously, why did I have to be assigned such mean teammates… granted, no one else has been good to me either. And they did try to be more patient after Holbrooke explained the whole situation to them, but still… "I need help." I whisper, more to myself than to them.

"You could ask someone to tutor you." Amelia suggests, without tearing her gaze away from what she's writing. I pause, considering her words. Yes, someone tutoring me outside of classes could be helpful, since the professors just won't lower the level for my sake, and it'd be unfair of me to ask for special treatment, but…

"It has to be someone super intelligent though. And patient. To be able to deal with you." Karen adds unhelpfully.

"Well… what about you?" I ask against my better judgment. "You got a perfect score on the entrance exam, right?"

"It has to be someone from the second or third year." Amelia answers before Karen can kill me solely with her angry gaze after I made such an outrageous suggestion. "That way she'd already know what topics to focus on in each subject."

"But I don't know any of the older students!" Or from this one, for that matter. It's only been a week, and my reputation precedes me, so…

"Ask Croix Meridies." Karen says. "She's a second year, and also the prodigy of Luna Nova, or something."

* * *

I knock three times on the second-year lilac team dorm door, where I'm supposed to find this "prodigy". Honestly, I don't know what to expect. Amelia and Karen said Croix Meridies is super smart, but they also said she's rather… _reclusive_ , so I wonder if she'd want to even listen to what I have to say, or if she'll just close the door on my face.

Before I can reign in my nerves and stop my palms from sweating so much, the door opens and a girl with short olive hair appears.

"Hi!" I exclaim quickly before she can say anything. "Are you Croix Meridies?"

"No. And she's not here." She says, glancing curiously at me. "Are you a friend of hers?" The way she asks the question makes me think she doesn't quite believe that's the case.

"Uh… no. I just wanted to ask her for help." I explain.

"Ah. You must be a first year." She chuckles, and my cheeks redden in embarrassment. "Well, if you must know, she went to the third floor. But if I were you, I wouldn't even bother; she rarely helps anyone."

"I'll never know if I don't try, right?" I shrug, trying to stay positive even after what that girl told me. "Thank you for the advice though." I wave her goodbye before scurrying down the corridor and up the stairs, towards the third floor. I've honestly never been to the third floor of the school, and… it looks surprisingly similar to the rest of it. Except there's only one classroom; the other two doors leading to storage rooms. There are also three stairs, two leading to the west and east observatories and the third one to the Astronomy Tower. I explore them in that order, leaving the Astronomy Tower for last because I really don't want to climb that many stairs.

As luck would have it, I don't find anyone in the other places, which is not really all that surprising considering the sun is already settling and curfew will start soon. But still, I wonder why Croix would be in the Astronomy Tower. I heard it's been in disuse for the longest time (as well as the observatories) since it's more practical to show the students magical projections of the firmament than to wake them up at midnight to make them read the actual sky. But hey, maybe Croix is really into astronomy?

As I come to the top of the stairs, I take the doorknob and twist it, trying to push the door open. But it's locked. And it shouldn't be. Also, even though there's a curtain covering the small rhomb-shaped window, I can see there's light from the other side, and I hear movement, so there must be someone in there.

I decide to knock.

A few seconds pass and no one answers, but the movement on the other side of the door stops, so I knock again. Still, the door remains closed, but if my possible salvation is at the other side, I can't give up now.

"Hi, are you Croix Meridies?" I ask, raising my voice so she'll be able to hear me, even from the inside. "I'm Chariot du Nord, a first-year. And I really need your help, so if you could…"

"Go away." Comes an exasperated voice from the inside. "I don't have time to deal with dumb first-years like you."

"Hey! That's very rude. You don't even know me!" I exclaim indignantly.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not helping you." She reiterates, sounding rather harsh and cold. Kinda like Karen actually, but less… _refined._ Still, that's not exactly the kind of person I'd want teaching me magic, even though I do need help… huh, maybe I could just ask like the second-best student? Or something? It doesn't have to be Croix.

"Fine." I huff. "Goodbye, you grump!" I hope I could come with a better insult (actually, grump isn't even remotely an insult!) but it's not like I have any experience with that, so… yeah. I better go with what's left of my dignity. At least we didn't even see each other's faces, so it won't be awkward when we pass each other on the hallways.

I turn around and start descending the stairs, thinking that maybe if I tell Karen that Croix didn't want to tutor me, she'll agree to do so instead. It's a remote possibility, and not one I'm particularly fond of, but…

CRASH

Before I can take another step, there's a thunderous sound coming from the top of the stairs that makes the whole tower shake, and I fall on my rear and have to cling to the steps in order not to fall further down. I look up to the source of the noise, and see smoke coming from under the closed door next to which I was standing just seconds ago. I hear coughing from the other side, followed by a pained groan, and I quickly rush upstairs to try and help her. Sure, she wasn't exactly the nicest person ever, but I can't just stay here and do nothing! Even if my legs are still trembling because of the fright this whole ordeal caused me.

Not pausing to even think about casting a spell, I kick the door open (and surprisingly get it on the first try) before rushing in and immediately being hit by a curtain of smoke that makes my vision blur with tears and my throat itchy to the point I can only cough loudly before I decide to put my arm over my mouth in an attempt to breath more normally.

The smoke thankfully starts to clear as it exits the room trough the recently-opened door, and I'm able to see what's inside. The room itself isn't different from the other observatories; round, with stairs that lead up to a platform from which you can look out of a circular window with the emblem of Luna Nova. However, this room also has an old couch, an even older desk, tons of books scattered around, cauldrons, flasks with various ingredients, tons of instant ramen cups (both new and empty), and also a wide assortment of electronic equipment, varying from old televisions, computers, telephones, cellphones, cables, wires, batteries, and many more things I can't distinguish with so much smoke still in the air.

Yet, what I do see in the middle of it all, is a girl with the Luna Nova uniform laying on the ground and clutching her right hand tightly as she rolls around crying in pain.

I'm with her in an instant, searching for any apparent damage. The sleeve of the arm she's holding has been torn apart, but the flesh appears to be intact, if a bit reddish, but the look on her face as she clutches it is of pure agony, indicating something is wrong. Then again, if she hurt herself using magic, the injuries could be invisible for all I know. I have to do something then! But what?

"C-Croix?" I ask, my voice trembling as I think over my options. "What happened? What can I do?"

Her previously-shut eyelids open, revealing a pair of bright teal orbs that reflect the pain she's undoubtedly feeling, but there's also something more… dread, perhaps?

"Out!" She rasps out, clutching her teeth as she tries to sit up but fails with a wince.

"Are you crazy?! I'm not leaving you! You need to go to the infirmary, or…"

"What happened up there?!" Professor Finnelan's voice is heard from far down the stairs, cutting me off before I can say anything else. Croix's eyes immediately widen in fear, and she looks around the room, at the (undoubtedly) illegal laboratory she's made for herself. If the professors find it, there's little doubt she'll be in trouble. More so considering the explosion and the injuries she caused to herself.

"I don't know." This time we hear Professor Babcock's voice. "I came to investigate as soon as I heard the explosion."

"I wonder if Miss du Nord has anything to do with it." Finnelan says with a sigh. I can only barely repress the impulse to protest loudly. "We better hurry, before something else happens."

"Chariot, right?" Croix's pained voice makes me look at her again, instead of at the open door from where the voices are coming. I can just nod numbly in response, too stunned that the lilac-haired girl even remembered my name. "There's a green vial in the top drawer of my desk. I need you to pour it all over the door and close it, saying _Vera gurasidia_."

"I'm not good at spells!" I protest.

"The potion will do most of the work." She counters. "And if you manage to pull it off, I promise I'll tutor you."

"Really?" I exclaim in surprise, having thought it would take much more than that to convince her. Yet, as soon as I see her nod stiffly I rush to the desk and open the drawer with so much force I end up dropping it to the ground, but I barely let that stop me from taking a green vial and rushing to the door, following Croix's instructions.

" _Vera gurasidia._ " I say, once the potion has been distributed over the now closed door. Instantly, the door starts shining green, only for the light to recede a moment later. I don't know what it was for though. "Did it work?" I ask.

"We just have to wait and find out." Croix says, laying on the ground and staring at her right hand. Although her expression is calmer than before, I can still see beads of sweat traversing her forehead, and she looks rather pale, so I suppose she's still in pain. I wished I knew some healing spell, but those are rather advanced, and I don't think my exceptional flying abilities are of much use in this situation.

So, as we wait in silence, hearing at the professors' steps come closer and closer, I limit myself to sit down next to Croix and watch her. She has a thin complexion, much like myself, and her figure is rather feminine, though the overall impression she gives with her looks and attitude in general is more towards the masculine side. Part of the reason is, perhaps, her long lilac hair not having any particular style. Like she simply brushed it and called it a day, instead of trying to accommodate it. She also isn't using any makeup, and is completely covered in soot and grease. And her glasses are now completely shattered, though the black frame still remains.

I think the look suits her, even if she'd probably be stunningly beautiful if she paid more attention to her appearance. Granted, right now I shouldn't be thinking about that, but on the incoming professors… speaking of which, I don't hear their steps anymore.

"Isn't it kinda silent?" I comment.

"So it worked." Croix lets out a relieved sigh.

"What was it?"

"A teleportation spell that will take them to the west observatory." She explains as she tries to get up, wincing again. I notice and rush to help her, and though she tries to pull away at first, she almost falls over again at her actions and reluctantly allows me to assist her.

"Won't they notice the difference?" I ask once she's standing on her own two feet and I'd let go of her.

"I don't think so." She shrugs as she goes over to her couch, takes a grey hoodie and tries to tie the sleeves around her neck. It takes me a moment to realize she's trying to make a makeshift sling for her arm and rush to help her. She just blushes and looks away with a bashful expression as she mumbles something like 'thanks'.

"You should go to the infirmary now, to get that checked." I say, pointing at her arm.

"No, it would be too easy to connect it with the incident." She answers. "I'll just fake an accident tomorrow during flying class."

"Are you sure?" I ask witch concern. "Maybe you should just admit it was all your fault and get medical attention now. I'm sure the punishment won't be that bad."

"I'm mixing magic with technology." She deadpans. "I'd be lucky if they expelled me."

"What, is that a crime?" I joke, chuckling, but her serious expression makes my reconsider my previous assumptions. "Uh… I mean…" I mumble, trying to cover my embarrassment for appearing like an idiot in front of her. That's probably common knowledge among witches, isn't it?

"I see you're lacking in more fields than I was expecting." She sighs. "But a promise is a promise, I guess."

"So you'll tutor me?!" I practically jump in excitement at her words.

"Only if you're out of here in less than ten seconds." She smirks. "One, two…"

"But wait, your arm…" I try to protest.

"Three, four, five…" She keeps counting and I curse under my breath before turning around and sprinting out of the room. After all, you can't help someone if they don't want your help; especially if that someone is a prodigy and you're just a dunce. I'm sure she can handle it, right? I'm freaking out for nothing. Tomorrow I'll come here and her arm will be as good as new.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I hope you liked that and if you did, please fav/follow/review. It truly motivates me to write more! After all, this is my first LWA fanfic, and I'm really looking forward to writing the next chapters. And if you're wondering, yes, this will be the complete tale of how Chariot and Croix became friends, obtained the shiny rod and six of the seven words. It will also have fragments from the time after the series ended, mainly because I want Croix to also tell Akko her side of some parts of the story... and because I love Diakko and I want to write a little about them too XD.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading, and see you soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwacher13.**


	2. A strange arrangement

**Chapter 2: A strange arrangement.**

I'm walking down the corridor and towards my room after the classes ended for the day. I've been wanting to speak with Croix all day and see how her arm is doing and if her offer to tutor me still stands, but she wasn't there at lunch, and I haven't seen her anywhere else either. Maybe her injuries were more serious than I expected? Should I go search for her at the infirmary? Or perhaps I could ask her teammates instead. Or maybe…

My thoughts are rudely interrupted when someone suddenly grabs my collar and makes me turn around to meet the face of the person I've been thinking about practically all day.

"I'm gonna teach you magic, and you're gonna get good at it!" She practically snarls.

It takes me a few seconds to process what just happened, but when I do, I simply stutter out a small "O-okay?" before she lets go of me and starts walking down the hall. I'm still trying to make sense of this weird interaction we just had, but I have half a mind to realize I should probably hurry to catch up with her.

"H-hey, wait!" I call for her. "So you're going to tutor me?" I can't help a small smile appearing on my face at the thought of being taught by the prodigy of Luna Nova herself! Although her personality could be a problem, to be honest.

"Yes." She answers courtly before finally stopping and turning around to meet my eyes. "But I have one more condition."

"Another one?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. She just nods and looks down at her arm, now placed on a proper sling.

"You'll have to be my slave."

"Wait, what?!" I exclaim, utterly surprised at her rather unexpected request.

"Only until my arm heals." She clarifies. "Since in the meantime I can't cast any spells because I ended up with both physical and magical injuries."

"Magical injuries?" I question. I'd never heard of those.

"Yes, you know, the kind that cut off the flow of magic inside your body." She answers like it's obvious. "Fortunately mine isn't permanent."

"Oh. Okay. I knew that." I blush in embarrassment. Probably that's yet another thing that's common knowledge amongst witches, but I didn't know until she said it to me. I'm really hating being so behind everyone else.

"But of course, I will really enjoy having my very own slave, so it's not that bad." She chuckles, and it takes me a minute to realize she was _joking_. I'm too shocked to even laugh, so I stay silent.

Maybe she's not the grumpy and untouchable nerd everyone makes her out to be.

"Speaking of which… what would being your slave actually mean?" I ask, fearing the answer, but feeling slightly more at ease now that she's throwing jokes around.

"Oh, you know…" She shrugs. "Helping me with my homework and assignments and… well…" She looks down in shame and mutters the last part. "Also with my personal projects."

"You mean those I saw in your secret lab?" She nods in answer.

"Of course you can't tell anyone about what's in there." Croix continues explaining. "And most of the magic I use is rather dangerous, but…" She makes a face as she stares back down at her hand. "Since I'm injured, and it was all because you distracted me, I thought it was only fair to make you pay for it." She finishes with a small chuckle and a smile, making sure I know she's joking, but only partially. She probably does blame me for what happened to her, and I don't doubt I'm at least a little bit responsible. And of course I'd be more than happy to help, but…

"Are you sure you want _me_ helping you?" I laugh awkwardly. "Most of the time my spells end up in dangerous explosions."

"Well, that's a thing we have in common." She also laughs pointing at her arm, and I join her. Though I know that was probably the first time something exploded on her face, with her being a prodigy or whatever.

"Anyways." She interrupts our laughter, adopting a more serious expression, though it's still slightly more relaxed than minutes ago. "That's why I have to teach you before I even let you get close to my lab, so… follow me." And with a barely noticeable smile, she turns around and starts walking, with me following close behind.

* * *

We walk across the school's main building and then exit to the outdoors without saying another word to each other. I'd like to, obviously, being a very curious and talkative person. I want to ask how she hurt her arm, what we're going to do first, and if she knows of my reputation, along with other more personal things (like what's her favorite color, or what she does on her free time) that'll help me know her better. Yet, I don't want to appear annoying, and she seems like a serious and reserved person. I don't want her to decide she won't help me because she just can't stand me.

Suddenly, Croix stops at the entrance to the sports fields, and I almost end up bumping into her, but I manage to stop in time and give her a friendly smile when she turns to look at me, which unfortunately doesn't coerce any reaction out of her.

"Before trusting you with anything, I want to see what you can do." She says, all previous sense of humor gone. "Get out your wand."

"Is this really necessary?" I ask, feeling nervous about this whole thing.

"If I am to tutor you, I need to know exactly what makes you such a poor witch, so we can work on correcting that." She explains, and though her words are rude, her tone isn't, which leaves me confused as to what to think of her.

"Okay…" I agree reluctantly as I let out my wand. "What do you want me to do, then?"

"A simple metamorphosis spell." She answers. "Transform yourself into something."

"But… I don't know the counter spell." I mutter, already imagining her judging eyes, looking at me like saying 'This girl should have stayed at her farm. A witch so incompetent doesn't have any business attending Luna Nova'.

"Of course you do." She scoffs. "It's exactly the same."

"Wait… really?" I exclaim, surprised. Why no one ever told me that? I have never even casted this spell in fear of not being able to turn back into a human, and yet it seems all my fears were for nothing.

"Yes, come on, we don't have all day." She prompts, and I turn to see that, effectively, the sun is already setting down on the horizon, which means we have to hurry if we don't want to be scolded for being out here after curfew.

I do as she asked me, feeling an intense ticklish sensation as I transform myself into a bunny. I smile satisfied when I realize Croix is now towering over me, and do an experimental hop, confirming I turned into the right animal. Croix nods in approval, and then, just as she'd said, I say the spell again picturing me as myself. Surely enough, when I look again I'm in my normal body.

"Not bad." She approves with a lopsided grin. "But you still have bunny ears."

"What?!" I blush and reach up to my ears, noticing she's right when my fingers touch something soft and fluffy. And very, very, long.

"Don't worry, I'll fix it." She reaches for her wand before stopping and pursing her lips, apparently remembering that's not really an option right now. "Or not." She mumbles angrily. "Anyways, just say the spell again and concentrate solely in your ears. That should do the trick."

"Okay." I say, fighting the urge to reassure her about her wounds being cured soon. I have a suspicion she wouldn't appreciate it. Instead, I follow her instructions and when I touch my ears they're human once again. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you." I tell the other girl, glad that she didn't just laugh at me, and instead helped me with my problem. "Is there something else you want me to do?" Croix nods.

"Let's try an intermediate spell now. Perhaps… an invisibility spell?"

I'm about to protest saying that's definitely _not_ an intermediate spell, but I refrain myself. I don't want to look even more like a rookie in front of her.

"Fine." I sigh, preparing myself to cast the spell for the second time in my life. I just hope this occasion goes better than the last one. " _Toriare Faciesse!_ "

I feel more energy than usual surging through my wand and prepare myself for the chills I'll get from this spell. Sure enough, they soon appear and I look down to my now invisible body, and I laugh, relieved when I realize it worked. Then I hear a snort coming from the other girl.

"What?" I ask, pouting at her.

"I can still see your head." She answers, looking directly at my eyes to prove her point. I try moving around and her eyes follow me, confirming her words. "It's a minor thing though, considering you pronounced _Toriare_ instead of _Toriara_ ."

"Oh." I blush. Great, I managed to embarrass myself. Again.

"You could try one more time. I'm sure you'll get it now." She encourages me, no teasing or degrading words involved, which almost gives me pause. This girl, who is apparently a genius witch that rarely helps anyone, is being more patient with me than all of the teachers and my classmates combined! I don't know what's going on, but I'm definitely not going to complain.

"Okay. _Toriara Faciesse._ " I pronounce the spell one more time, and when I look at Croix, she nods in approval.

"Much better." She says, smiling. "But maybe I should have suggested another spell, because now it'll be difficult to keep an eye on you."

Wait. Did she just make a pun? Nah, I must be imagining things. Now… I better revert the spell. How was that supposed to work? Flicking the wand up instead of down? No, I think it was changing one of the words. Or was it a completely different spell?

"Uhm… what's the counter spell?" I ask shyly, upset that I made a fool of myself yet again. At this rate Croix will get tired on me in less than a week.

"Oh, I don't know." She shrugs nonchalantly. "How did you return to normal the last time you used it?"

"I waited?" I answer, but it comes out as a question.

"Exactly." She nods. "Invisibility is a protection spell, so the only way to revert it is if another person casts a revelation spell on you. Since the user wouldn't normally have a reason to deactivate it before it wears off on its own, no one has ever invented a counter spell able to be used on oneself."

"Oh." I blink. That makes sense. But no one had ever explained it to me like that. Normally people just dismiss my questions and tell me I need to study more. But books are often too complicated for me to understand, so it's more useful for me to get all this information in such a simplistic manner. I think I'm starting to like this girl. She's not the stick in the mud I thought she was.

"Well, now let's try a more complicated spell." Croix interrupts my thoughts, and I groan internally. Just when I was starting to like her! "Do you know how to control an inanimate object?"

"I… think so?" I answer uncertainly. I definitely know the spell, but I've never casted it before.

"Well, then let's see how you do it." She says as she takes something out of her pocket and throws it to the ground front of me. I look at it and realize it's a plastic figure resembling a robot; a toy of some sorts. "This should be innocuous enough."

"Fine." I take a deep breath, preparing myself. This is a high-level spell, but I've read about it, so at least I know the basics of how it works. Just… how was it pronounced, again? It started with A. I think. " _Ansol Airou!_ " I shout, pointing at the thing in question.

Nothing happens.

" _Ansolew Airo_ ." Croix corrects me. "And you have to imagine how you want it to move for it to work. The energy summoned is also greater than normal spells."

"R-right." I blush, glad to be invisible right now. " _Ansolew_ _Airo_ ." I try again, closing my eyes to imagine the robot sitting up. Unfortunately, as I open them again, the object in question hasn't changed its position in the slightest. " _Ansolew Airo!_ " I scream once more, this time angry that it didn't work.

The toy, instead of sitting up as I wanted, propels itself off the ground and takes flight, landing at the other end of the field.

I'm so dead.

"Did you wanted it to launch like a missile?" Croix chuckles, looking directly at me. I guess the invisibility spell is starting to wear off. Great.

"No." I laugh too, glad that Croix doesn't seem to be mad, or even surprised, or disappointed.

"Emotions play a big part when using magic." She explains, an amused smile forming on her face for the first time since I've met her. "Which is why your spell got out of control. But don't worry, it's a usual mistake." She assures me, and I smile in thanks for her kind words.

Just a second later, however, her gaze turns mischievous, and she speaks again, in a mocking tone.

"I mean, at least I think so. It's not like I've ever gotten this spell wrong anyways. Unlike certain _noobs_ ."

"Hey!" I slap her shoulder, knowing she's laughing at me.

"Ow! Geez, I was just joking." She laughs, and I do so too, glad she appears to be more relaxed now.

"I didn't hit you that hard." I answer, rolling my eyes.

"Come on." She shakes her head, trying to suppress a smile, and fortunately failing. "We have to get back before curfew."

"So… did I pass?" I ask as I start following her back into the main building. She pretends to be thinking for a moment, before smirking with mock malice.

"Only if you manage to find my robot before tomorrow morning." And with that, she takes off running, leaving me out on the fields with a dumbfounded expression.

Stupid robot.

But at least Croix seems to like me… kind of. Maybe she just enjoys watching me suffer. Or both. This girl is so confusing!

* * *

"Hahahahaha! Oh my god! Really? You got rabbit ears too? And became a floating head with an invisible body? And made Croix-sensei's toy robot fly off?!" Akko laughed hysterically to the point of literally falling off her chair. Her laugh was so contagious, however, that the professor started laughing as well and was unable to properly chant a spell before Akko hit the ground. But that's okay, because her student just kept laughing and rolling around. "Ursula-sensei, you really were almost as bad as me at magic!"

"I suppose I can see the parallels." Chariot chuckled, attempting to regain her breath and seeing as Akko slowly also started to calm herself down. "But, while both of us lacked basic understanding of magic when we entered Luna Nova, your real problem was your…" She winced, her playful mood suddenly sobering and turning more somber. "Ah… _deficiency_ of magic inside your body."

At her words, all of Akko's giggles died in an instant and she glared at her.

"I thought we agreed not to talk about this anymore, sensei." She said sternly. After all, although she'd already forgiven her for everything, her mood soured every time she was reminded of that fact. And she knew her professor would also start mentally kicking herself to a point that probably wasn't healthy.

"Well, yes, but…"

"No." Akko cut her off, getting up from the ground and looking directly at her eyes with fierce determination. "No more talking about this."

"Alright, alright." She conceded, putting her hands up in surrender. "I just meant to say that our circumstances, although similar, were completely different. And not just because of… _that._ "

At this, Akko raised an eyebrow before plopping down on the chair and regarding her with intense curiosity.

"How so?" She asked, tilting her head like a confused puppy. After all, ever since seeing those visions at the Fountain of Polaris, she liked to imagine Chariot's life being very similar to her own, and her professor's recent recount of events just served to prove that fact even more.

"Well, for one, my best friend was the one tutoring me; not a teacher. The professors were also far more understanding with me than they ever were with you, which is more than a little unfair. And also…" She paused, debating on whether or not reveal the next piece of information about herself. At the end, she relented, figuring she'd end up telling Akko at some point anyways. "The amount of magic I possess is… how do I put it?" She blushed and deviated her gaze in embarrassment. "Uhm… far greater than normal."

"Whaaaaaa…?!" Akko screamed, truly surprised by this new information. Sure, Shiny Chariot was powerful, but she thought that was mainly the Shiny Rod at work, and she'd never seen her shy professor do anything great or extravagant with magic.

"It was really a bother! Too difficult to control, especially since I knew very little about magic!" She rambled on, feeling her cheeks burn at the dumbfounded expression on her student's face.

"But why? Why are you so powerful? And why didn't you know anything about magic? Aren't you from a witches' family?" Akko shot question after question, realizing that her little talk with the kind professor only left her more in the dark than before.

"Akko!" Chariot interrupted her, really not wanting to answer anything more right now, and wishing she could just go to bed… or to her couch, for that matter. "I believe it's getting late. If you wish, we could leave this conversation for another day."

"Awww, but…"

"You need to sleep. You can't arrive late to your exam tomorrow." She added, using the sternest tone she could muster while looking directly at Akko's eyes. It seemed to work though, because the student soon pouted and looked down.

"Fine." She mumbled, and the teacher sighed internally, knowing she wouldn't be able to deny her if she kept insisting.

"Alright then, come on. I'll escort you to your room."

* * *

It was a quiet night at Luna Nova; as the top student Diana Cavendish patrolled the corridors nothing could be heard except her footsteps. Strictly speaking, her patrol had ended one hour ago, at midnight, yet she still kept going, pretending she didn't know how late it was. It's not like the teachers were out there anyways; they were more than content on letting her do their jobs and report to them if she found something unusual. Which suited her just fine. She loved the rare tranquility she found in just walking around surrounded by nothing but darkness and the faint glow of her wand.

It also helped that she, more often than not, got to catch Akko out of her bed after curfew, usually stealing sweets from the kitchen. In which cases she just gave her a mild scolding and a warning before escorting her to her room as they chatted and laughed. Honestly, that girl was 75% trouble and 25% distilled happiness. But that was what drew her to her in the first place, and also what kept her walking in the middle of the night in hopes of finding her, even if her eyelids were starting to feel heavy.

Just ten more minutes. She thought. Then I'll return to bed.

So she kept walking, climbing the stairs up to the third floor. Now, normally she wouldn't have a reason to go there, since Akko was more likely to be found on the ground floor near the kitchens or the courtyard, but she knew that tonight Akko was studying at the Astronomy Tower with Professor Chariot, and so the third floor was worth a shot.

Thankfully for the ace student, as she rounded a corner, she found herself face to face with no other than the infamous troublemaker Atsuko Kagari, and the astronomy professor herself, who both jumped a bit when they saw her come out of nowhere. Diana, however, just smiled as she saw her goal appear in front of her.

"D-Diana!" Akko was the first one to speak, her tone both happy and nervous, as it always was whenever Diana caught her out of her room late in the night.

"Oh, Diana, it's you." The professor laughed relieved, placing a hand over her racing heart. "Don't scare me like that."

"My apologies, professor." She answered politely. "Akko." She then added, looking at the younger girl as a smile unconsciously appeared on her face. "May I ask what are the two of you doing here?"

"I was merely accompanying Akko to her room after her supplementary lessons." Chariot answered.

"I see." Diana hummed, a plan already forming on her head. "If you wish, I could accompany her myself. I was already on my way to my own room, so that won't be a problem."

Chariot chose not to mention that Diana's room was in the east dormitory while Akko's was on the west. Literally on opposite ends of the school. Instead, she just smiled as she saw right through Diana's intentions.

"Very well. I trust you will lead her straight to her room and won't stray or follow her in a crazy adventure at all." She shot the star student a warning gaze, making sure she understood that, while she was willing to help her connect with Akko a little more, she wouldn't approve of any behavior that may put Akko's position at Luna Nova in jeopardy.

"Of course, Professor." Diana nodded. Even if she hadn't said anything, Diana had still planned on just escorting Akko to her room. They had their first exam early in the morning, after all.

"Alright girls, then I'll leave you two alone." She faked a yawn. "Oh, I'm so tired! I must go back to my room right now. Bye Akko! Bye Diana!" She waved them goodbye as she hastily retreated back to the Astronomy Tower.

"Bye, sensei!" Akko called back, waving with her hand.

"Have a good night, professor." Diana said in a much more reserved tone. Then, once they were alone, she turned to Akko. "Alright then, let's get you to your room."

"Okay!" Akko exclaimed while practically jumping as she positioned herself at her side, a little closer than was normally acceptable. But then again, Diana was more than used to her not respecting her personal space. "But… maybe first we could make a stop at the kitchen real quick? I'm _starving_ _!_ "

"Akko!"

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well, and that you favorite/follow/review if you did, it really encourages me to keep writing! And btw, in case you're wondering, in the game Diana's room really is at the east dormitory while Akko's is at the west, so I took advantage of that to make a little Diakko scene that I hope you liked.**

 **Also, for both pairings it'll be slowburn, just so you know. And I also don't think I'll be writting romance between anyone else, but who knows? (All gay, of course).**

 **Anyways, thank you for reading, and see you soon :)**

 **And thanks to my beta readers, Colten Gillam and moonwatcher13.**


	3. The lessons start

**Chapter 3: The lessons start.**

"Ursula Sensei!" Akko called into the tower, while pretty much barging in. She wore a huge smile on her face as usual and carried a stack of books. The professor in question almost jumped out of her skin at the intrusion, having to grip her desk tightly in order to not fall from her chair, but she calmed down when she realized who it was.

"Akko! You have to stop doing that." She chastised her, straightening up as she turned around to look at her student, who came to sit by her side.

"I'm sorry." She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I was just too excited! I have so many questions!"

"Questions?" The professor asked, confused. She has never seen Akko so excited about studying, more so if she was having trouble with the information.

"Yes! How was Croix as a tutor? I bet she was wonderful, since she was really my favorite professor while she was here… after you, of course." She amended quickly. "Also, you promised to tell me why you were so powerful, and why you knew almost nothing about magic, and…"

"Akko." Chariot cut her off before she could continue her question-vomiting, and sighed internally. She should had known Akko wasn't excited about the tutoring session, but the little talk they'd agreed to have afterwards. "You need to study first! Come on, which exam do you have tomorrow?"

"Can't we study later?" Akko pouted, and Chariot had to close her eyes, trying not to think of how her student looked like a kicked puppy when she made that face.

"No. You'll get distracted and keep asking me questions instead of studying." She firmly said, opening her eyes and taking Akko's books from her hands. "Now, about the exam…"

"Bird language." She mumbled angrily. Or as angry as she could be knowing her professor was right, as usual.

"Ah! That one's easy." Chariot smiled, trying to cheer her up.

"No, it's not." Akko pouted once more. "At this rate I'll end up having a fish for familiar."

"Cheer up. You learned fish language pretty quickly! Understanding birds should be easy now." The professor encouraged her, knowing Akko answered quite well to positive reinforcement. "Alcor will help us, right?" She turned to address the bird, who was perched on his usual spot. He, however, just opened one eye and cawed at her, sounding irritated.

"He said no." Akko complained.

"Very good, Akko! You're getting better." Chariot beamed at her.

"I don't need to know bird language to understand that."

"But still, that's the first step." She answered, not losing her optimism. "Now, come on Alcor, don't be mean." She told her bird, who kept glaring at her as if the two were having a silent conversation. After a while, the crow sighed in defeat and took flight, landing on the extended arm of his mistress.

"So he really is Alcor, huh?" Akko asked, eying him intently. She'd be more excited about it if he looked at all as the glowing phoenix she remembered, instead of the old white crow he was now. No wonder she never recognized him before knowing her professor was really Chariot in disguise. "I have a plush of him, you know?"

"Oh, I do remember those toys! He never liked them; said they were too fat." Chariot laughed, looking at her crow, who mumbled something that Akko was unable to understand, yet she also laughed at his annoyed expression.

"But they were so cute!" Akko teased.

The crow just cawed in protest, wondering why his mistress had to get him involved in teaching such a girl. But then again, if he was really honest with himself, he knew deep down that he didn't really mind. Akko reminded him a lot of Chariot when she was young, after all.

* * *

"Ugh! It's useless!" Akko whined for what felt like the hundredth time in that hour. "How am I supposed to know the difference between one caw and another?"

"Pay attention, Akko. It's not only about listening; it's about _understanding_." Chariot explained patiently. "More so, there's magic involved. You can't treat bird language as if it was English."

"Ugh! But then how can I understand fish language, which is supposedly more difficult?" She complained.

"That's actually a good question." Chariot mused. "How did you learn it?"

"I transformed into a merman, and then I suddenly knew fish language." She shrugged. "But no matter how many times I transform into a bird when I turn back into a human I can't understand birds anymore!"

"Well, that's usually how it works." Chariot said, rubbing her chin as she reflected on what she had been told. "But then again, a merman is half-human and half-fish. Have you ever tried turning into a creature that's half-human and half-bird?"

"Oh! Like your winged witch form?" Akko exclaimed excitedly, stars shining on her eyes as she recalled Shiny Chariot's show, and how awed she'd been when she saw her transform into some sort of angel, flying majestically through the sky.

"I suppose it could work." Chariot shrugged. Truth to be told, she was curious, since she'd never heard of something like this before, and if it could help Akko with her studies she supposed it was worth a try. Even if she would normally be against taking the easy way out.

"Alright!" Akko exclaimed, getting up with a jump and taking out her wand. "Time to shine then! _Metamorphie_ _faciesse_."

Instantly, Akko was surrounded by a cloud of smoke and emerged transformed into a pink bird, oddly resembling her Alcor plush toy.

"Sensei!" She whined, upset she was unable to transform into what she wanted.

"It's always more difficult to transform into humanoid creatures than normal animals." Chariot explained, giving her an encouraging smile. "It's normal that you couldn't get it the first time. But with how good you are getting at metamorphosis magic, I'm sure you'll be able to do it in no time at all."

"You really think so, Ursula-sensei?" The bird-Akko asked, hope being very clear on her tone of voice.

"Yes. Just turn back into a human and then cast the spell one more time. Try to concentrate solely on your arms and imagine them transforming into wings. Remember: you have to have a clear image on your head for it to work."

"Okay!" Akko nodded happily before doing as told. First, she casted the spell one more time, transforming into herself (thankfully she'd never had a problem with that part) and then got ready for the difficult part. "Here it goes again! _Metamorphie faciesse!_ " Smoke surrounded her once more, but only around her arms, and when it cleared… there were a pair of wings there alright. But there was only one little problem. "Sensei!" She whined once more.

"Oh, goodness." Chariot put a hand over her mouth and tried not to laugh, but it was very difficult when her student had a pair of chicken wings instead of arms. Akko pouted, flapping uselessly her wings as tears started to appear on her eyes. The professor took note of it and instantly rushed to reassure her. "Akko, don't get discouraged. I told you this isn't easy, and at least you now have wings."

"Yeah, child. Stop whining; it's getting annoying."

Akko's head shot up at the speed of light and her eyes widened to the size of saucers when she heard the voice coming from the crow perched on her professor's shoulder. She could understand him! She had managed to understand Alcor!

"You talked!" Akko beamed, so happy about it that her wings started flapping without her even meaning to.

"Of course I did!" He scoffed. "I've been talking the whole time. You just weren't able to understand me."

"Well, now I will! Just see! _Metamorphie faciesse._ " And Akko then turned her wings into human arms once more, confident that she would be able to understand Alcor this time. "Come on, speak!"

But the crow just cawed, and Akko screamed in frustration, unable to understand a thing… and then Chariot laughed and shook her head.

"Alcor, don't be mean." She said between giggles.

"Agh. Alright." He answered, and this time Akko was able to distinguish the words within his caws. She also could very distinctly tell he was laughing at her. "It's funny teasing her. As I did with you back in the day."

"Hey! You're such a big meanie!" Akko yelled before sticking out her tongue at him. "And to think I wanted to have a familiar like you." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her head to the side as she pouted. "Now I'm starting to think a fish isn't that bad of an idea."

But the crow just kept laughing, obviously having the most fun he'd had in ages, so Chariot decided to intervene before Akko did something to offend her familiar (he was so sensitive she swore she sometimes walked on nails while talking with him).

"Uhm… Akko, now that you've seemingly mastered bird language, would you like me to tell you about my first lesson with Croix?"

"Oh, yes professor!" Her whole demeanor immediately changed as she flopped down on the chair and regarded her intently, smiling like she'd gotten an early Christmas present. Alcor, on the other hand, just sighed and took flight to land on his wooden perch.

"If you're going to start gushing about _her_ again, I'm just going to go to sleep." He said in a very annoyed tone, and Chariot flushed at his words.

"I-I'm not… I don't gush about her!" She protested.

"Right."

"I don't!" She affirmed once more, but even Akko raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh, come on, don't believe what that old crow tells you! Anyways, where were we?" She quickly attempted to change the subject, seeing that just denying what her familiar had said wasn't working.

"Your first lesson with Croix-sensei?" Akko answered, although it sounded more like a question.

"Right! Right, well, okay. Where to start?"

* * *

After classes, I go running towards the second floor corridor of the east dormitory, where Croix's room is, and I wait for her at the entrance fidgeting impatiently. I'm practically jumping in excitement! I have a good feeling about this. With Croix's help I'll get better at magic and become the best witch that's ever set foot in this school!... Or at least stop failing at practically every subject. That would be great too.

"Croix! Croix!" I yell when I spot her, walking behind her roommates, who are both talking between them. I, however, don't wait for her to arrive to her room and instead run past the other two girls and stop in front of Croix, beaming at her. "Croix, I've been searching for you all day! Here's your robot!" I say, practically shoving the toy in her only good hand, with which she's barely able to hold it. "What are you going to teach me today? Will I be turning into a dragon? Or maybe fighting one? Oh! What about riding one? That would be pretty cool!"

She blinks a couple of times, trying to make sense of what I just said before chuckling and shaking her head in disbelief.

"What on Earth made you think our first lesson would have anything to do with dragons?" She says amused.

"Uhm…" I trail off, not understanding my own logic either. "I just… thought it would be fun?"

"Alright." She sighs, still smiling. "Since I see you're lacking basic understanding of, well, _everything_ , I suppose we shall start from the very beginning."

"Okay?" I raise an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

"Let's go to a more secluded place. Perhaps the fields? I know a very nice spot where we can study undisturbed."

"Sure. Sounds nice." I shrug. It's better than the library, that's for sure.

"Ahem." One of Croix's roommates interrupts us, making us both look at her as I rub the back of my neck sheepishly, having totally forgotten they were there. "Hey Croix, aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend?" The girl with short olive hair I encountered the other day speaks, wearing an amused expression.

"She's not my friend!" Croix immediately protests.

"That's right! I'm her slave." I clarify, because surely a prodigy like her wouldn't want people to think she's friends with a troublemaker like myself.

"What?! No!" Croix blushes, averting her gaze before mumbling out something resembling an explanation. "We're just… she just…" She pinches the bridge of her nose, taking in a deep breath as she attempts to regain her composure. "I'm tutoring her, and she's helping me out in return."

"So I'm not your slave?" I ask confused. I thought that was the deal.

"That was only a joke! Jeez." She pouts, looking away from me.

A joke? Huh. I guess that makes sense.

"So I take that you did find her the other day?" Her roommate asks, probably deciding it was better to ignore the weirdness of it all.

"I did! Thank you… uh…" I pause, remembering I don't know her name.

"Miriam." She answers, smiling kindly. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too! I'm Chariot." I then turn to the other girl, who has asiatic features, tan skin, long black hair and brown eyes. "And you are…?"

"Hitsume." She answers, also wearing a friendly smile. "It's a pleasure. Honestly, it's so good finally seeing Croix making some friends."

"She's not my friend!" Croix protests once more. And though her words are very much true, they still hurt a bit. But then again, I tell myself, just because we're not friends now, it doesn't mean we can't be in the future… If she improves her attitude, that is.

"Then why are you helping her and not the dozens of girls that asked you before?" Miriam counters, raising an eyebrow.

"That is none of your concern!" Croix snarls before turning around and starting to walk down the hall. "Come on, Chariot."

"Aren't you going to retrieve your books? They're still in our room, you know?" Hitsume says. At this, Croix pauses and turns around to glare at her teammates before walking again towards her room.

* * *

Just as Croix had said, we soon find ourselves sitting at the shadow of a three in a secluded area near the sports fields. No one really comes around here; its a little clearing just a few meters into the forest, so it's nice and quiet. The atmosphere is quite pleasant, since the tree shelters us from the fierce rays of sun and the wind that blows from the south isn't too cold or too hot, providing us with a very relaxing breeze that carries the scent of freshly-cut grass and flowers. Over all, a very nice spot to study, though I wouldn't mind having a nap here. Or a picnic.

Croix (well, _I_ , because she can't carry anything) brought a history book, as well as her notes from last year, and is now flipping through the pages, looking for the best place to start. I just stay silent, watching her and thinking about what her roommates said.

So… from their conversation I inferred two things: one, she doesn't have any friends. And two… many have asked for her help and yet she's only every agreed to tutor _me_. I bet it was all because I saw her secret lab and she figured I wouldn't tell the teachers if she helped me, but still, she's been nice I guess, and yesterday we were getting along somewhat. And I also don't have any friends, so maybe we could be friends? Eventually? I think I'd like that. I don't want to just stop seeing her after her hand heals and I get better at magic! Even if I don't know her, I think it would be very sad to go back to our friendless lives after this.

"Chariot?" Croix calls my name, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Y-yes?" I ask, slightly startled.

"I think it would be better if you first told me what you do know about magic, so I know where to start."

"Oh, right! Well…" I pause, blushing when I realize I don't really have much I can tell her. Aside from what we've seen in classes this past week. "Uh… I suppose I know about the Ley Lines, which carry magic all around the world, and the Sorcerer's Stones that take and emit that energy, allowing us to use it." I pause, putting a finger on my chin as I try to recall something else. "Also, each person has magic energy inside themselves, which when conducted through a wand or a broom can interact with the magic from the Ley Lines and… do stuff." Yeah, no better way to describe magic.

"Eh… I suppose that's correct." Croix shrugs. "But do you know why we now need a Sorcerer's Stone to use magic? It certainly wasn't like that in the past."

"Because…" I pause, searching through my memories for something to give me the answer. Maybe one of the books back at home? No. They're all full of spells and potion recipes, and also a few about magic plants and creatures, a couple on magic languages, also some about familiars, but… No. Nothing about magic history. And I fell asleep the other day precisely during that class. Great.

"Because magic is dying." Croix says when it's obvious I can't answer her question. I just stare at her for a few seconds, trying to process her words.

"W-what?" I squeak out, looking intently at her face, trying to find any sign that she's lying, but I find none.

"That's right. Magic is rapidly disappearing from the world." She confirms what she just said. "It has been for nearly fifteen centuries. Perhaps more."

"What happened?" I ask, concerned that the thing I've dreamed with for my whole life is suddenly going to just banish. How can I be a witch if there's no magic anymore?!

"Have you ever heard of the Nine Olde Witches?"

My stomach twists at her question, and I feel my palms get sweaty as I look away and answer as calmly as possible.

"Even I am not _that_ ignorant." I huff. "They were the ones who founded the school."

"And?" She prompts, raising an eyebrow.

"And…" I pause, looking around as if the threes and the grass could give me the answers. "And they… uh… did many other things?"

Croix just gives me a deadpan stare before searching for a page on the book and then thrusting it at me. In it, I see there's a picture of nine different hats, under which there's an inscription in lunar runes.

"They restored magic to the world after the Great Era of Magic ended, and then sealed the Grand Triskelion in the Arcturus Forest to ensure magic wouldn't disappear again." She explains.

"I-I see." I gulp, hearing her speak with such fervor and enthusiasm about that, though honestly I only understood half of what she said. I wonder what she'd think if she knew my little secret.

"Do you, really?" She asks with a smug smile. "Then tell me what is the Grand Triskallion?"

"It's a… a thing that the Nine sealed at some forest?" I answer sheepishly.

"It's the world-altering magic, you dummy!" She laughs. "Once part of the legendary tree, Yggdrasil, which connected the stars with the Earth and allowed people to use magic without any sort of restriction." She pauses long enough to switch the page to another one that has a drawing of an enormous three covering practically half of the planet. "The Grand Triskallion only possesses a small fragment of the magic of Yggdrasil, but it's still supposed to be strong enough to grant any wish to the one who obtains it."

"A wish? That sounds cool!" I exclaim with enthusiasm, after all, this history lesson is more akin to reading a fairytale.

"Of course that's what you'd get from all I said." She rolls her eyes, but still chuckles and continues talking. "Yes, a _wish_." She then flips some more pages and stops when finding another drawing, this time of some sort of scepter with seven round gems ingrained all through its body. "However, to obtain it, you must first unlock seven ancient spells by using the _Claiomh_ _Solais_ , an ancient rod said to belong to Woodward herself."

"Woodward?" I tilt my head curiously.

"Seriously?" She deadpans. "You don't even know who Woodward is?" When I shake my head no, blushing brightly in embarrassment, as it seems this is yet _another_ important thing about magic that everyone knows except me, she just chuckles. "Okay, I don't know why I'm even surprised. Didn't your parents teach you _anything?"_

I feel a slight pang of pain inside my chest at her words, as she just reminded me of the reason I'm so behind everyone else. In Luna Nova everyone is from a magic family, and so they're taught ever since they're little the history, traditions and methods of magic. That would have also been the case with me, but…

"They're dead."

"Oh." Croix smile vanishes instantly and she looks to the side, fidgeting in discomfort.

"My aunt raised me, but she isn't a witch, so everything I know, I had to learn it on my own." I continue explaining. "Though, I have to admit, I focused more on the practice than the theory."

"Well that… uh… that explains a lot." Croix coughs awkwardly, probably because I made her uncomfortable by coming out with such personal information. But I don't regret it. After all, if she's going to teach me she needs to know why I'm so behind everyone.

"Yeah…" I trail off, unsure of what to say to dispel this silence that suddenly fell between us.

"So." Croix says after a few seconds, startling me a little. "Seeing that you're more lacking on the theoretical field than I expected, which is saying a lot, I believe I need some time to prepare, so I can teach you without confusing you even more. Meanwhile… do you want to practice some spells? I believe it would be wise to test how much energy you can use at a time."

"Uhm… sure." I shrug. It sounds better than sitting here in awkward silence anyways.

* * *

 **A/N: I hoped you liked this chapter, and if you did, please leave a review telling me your thoughts; it'll encourage me to write more :D**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope to see you soon (about two weeks, most likely).**

 **Thanks to my beta readers Colten Gillam and moonwatcher13.**


	4. Of magic and families

**Chapter 4: Of magic and families.**

Croix and I are now standing near the tree under which we've left our books. I've got my wand ready and I'm facing a rock. Not too large, and not too small. Just a regular chair-sized boulder that's about ten meters away from me. And yet, even though we haven't even started, it feels like the rock is winning.

"Okay… so, the spell I'm going to teach you is usually forbidden." Croix says.

"That's a good start." I joke, but she just gives me a pointed look and I decide it's better not to interrupt her again.

"As such, it's not taught at schools, and you'll probably never use it while you're a student." She continues explaining. "However, since it's basically just a blast of raw magical power, it will allow us to roughly see how much magic you have inside you."

"Alright, let's do it!" I exclaim, getting my wand out of the sash and extending it out of it's wooden handle.

"First of all, your stance…" Croix says as she approaches me, looking up and down my body as if intently examining my posture. "It has to be steadier. Open your legs." I do as she says, separating my legs so that they are about a foot apart. At this, she nods in approval. "Alright. Now your arm…" She takes my hand with her left one, and I can't help noticing it's warm, though perhaps also a bit too calloused because of her work with machines. "Raise it so that it's at the height of your eyes; that'll make it easier for you to aim. Good, now… your elbow." She lets go of my hand and proceeds to position my elbow. "It has to be more separated of your body, so that you'll have more mobility." Once that's done, she takes a step back and eyes me from various angles, tilting her head to assess my posture. "Yes. Yes, that's good enough, I suppose."

"Alright. What's the spell then?" I'm barely able to refrain myself from jumping up and down in excitement, least I end up messing up my stance.

" _Mur-o-wa_." Croix pronounces, carefully enunciating every syllable, so that I'm able to perfectly get the correct pronunciation.

" _Mur_ …"

"Wait." She hastily cuts me off before I can finish pronouncing the spell. "You have to aim first." She explains, pointing to the rock. "And you have to concentrate on the energy inside your body, pouring as much as you can into the spell."

"Alright." I carefully point the tip of my wand towards the boulder, unsure of how close to it will the spell land, and spending quite some time trying to get it perfectly aligned.

"As it usually is with magic, the aim doesn't have to be perfect, but you have to have your objective very clear for the spell to land on it." Croix continues when she sees me struggling. "It's not a gun, after all." She chuckles.

"Right." I blush. Then, I close my eyes and concentrate on pouring energy into my wand. I feel it flow through my veins, like a river of fire just under the surface of my skin, and I'm careful to take as much as I can from it. Of course, not all of it is available at a time, but I can still take a good bunch and make it run out of my body through the magical conductor that is the wooden and metal wand of the school. " _Murowa!_ " I shout after opening my eyes and focusing on the boulder.

Instantly, the magic that was inside me comes out in an impressive burst that lands on my objective… and before I can react, there's a big explosion that shakes the ground making me fall, and makes my ears ring as a great cloud of smoke and dust raises from the ground. I close my eyes and raise my arms in a defensive manner, expecting the worse… but after a few seconds of just waiting in dread anticipation, hearing as pieces of rocks fall all around me, I realize that, despite my racing heart, I'm mostly unscathed, and I dare opening my eyes only a small crack.

Croix is standing in front of me in a defensive posture, holding her wand on her left hand, from which a sphere of pink energy is emitted, surrounding the both of us in a way that makes me assume it was because of it that neither of us got hurt. I sigh in relief, but just as soon as I do that, the dome disappears and Croix's wand falls to the ground, before the lilac-haired witch does the same, crying in pain.

"Croix?" I ask panicked as I rush to her, kneeling at her side and looking for any sort of injury, but I just see her clutching her right arm tightly as she clenches her teeth with her eyebrows knitted in a pained expression. Instantly, I realize what happened. I'd thought she literally _couldn't_ use magic, but by the looks of it, it just hurts her a lot. "Oh, no! I just made you use magic. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to… I'm so stupid, I'm sorry!" I feel tears prick at the corner of my eyes, as I'm just a horrible walking disaster that makes people suffer whenever I use magic, even though my intentions are the exact opposite. Honestly, I think I should come with a hazard warning.

"N-no. It's okay." She rasps out, making an effort to open her eyes and give me a pained smile. "It's my fault. I didn't realize you could be so powerful."

"Eh?" I tilt my head in confusion. She's not mad? She got hurt because of me!

"Normally the spell would have simply pulverized the boulder, not caused an explosion." She chuckles, but then grimaces as her arm (no doubt) starts hurting again. Still, she puts on a brave façade, smiling even when in her tense shoulders and paling face I can see she's still in pain. "I don't know why, but I just assumed your problem was lack of power, yet it seems to be the _excess_ of it." She then shakes her head in amusement. "Just how ancient is your family anyways?"

"Uh…" I trail off, unsure if I should be sharing this information with her or, well, _anyone_. Sure, my roommates and my teachers know, but only because Holbrooke considered it was important to tell them, but with Croix… I just don't want her to treat me any different, or to think I'm special just because of my ancestry. But then again, if I'd told her sooner, this wouldn't have happened, and she wouldn't be in pain. She's agreed to tutor me too, even after refusing so many other girls before me, so the least I can do is be completely honest with her.

"Uhm…" I blush and deviate my gaze as I rub the back of my neck in a sheepish way. "About… fifteen centuries." I finally admit in a small voice.

"What?!" She exclaims, staring owlishly at me, the pain in her arm completely forgotten. "But the only known families that are that old are…"

"I-I… yeah." I mumble awkwardly. She doesn't have to finish the sentence for me to get what she meant to say.

"You descend from one of the Nine Olde Witches?! Are you serious?!" Her shrieks make me flinch. I think she's starting to freak out. Ugh. This is why I didn't want her to know!

"I-it's not that big of a deal!" I stammer. "I mean, honestly, we're not even 100% sure since most of my ancestors died during the witch hunts, and the survivors changed their last name. With how bad I am at magic it's more probable that this is just some stupid rumor or something!"

"You don't even know how magic inheritance works, do you?" She asks, raising an eyebrow. When I just shake my head and blush even brighter, she continues talking. "We're all born with a certain amount of magic inside ourselves, but as we use it the amount increases." She pauses, looking pointedly at me. "Once we have children, our magic is passed down, growing slightly with each generation of witches, depending on how much magic the mother used." She sighs and turns to look at the hole that's now where the boulder once was. "That's why, the more ancient a family is, the more powerful its members are."

"S-so you're saying…"

"I'm saying, Chariot du Nord, that you just freaking caused an explosion that almost killed us because your family has been accumulating power for fifteen centuries." She laughs, like even she can't quite believe what she's saying. "I would certainly consider that proof enough that you are _indeed_ a descendant from one of the Nine."

"I-I see…" I gulp, slightly overwhelmed. "Please don't tell anyone!"

"Why not? You'd be like a celebrity here." She watches me in amusement.

"Because they'd start treating me differently, and they'd want to be my friends just because of my family, and expect me to excel at everything!" I practically whine, giving her my best puppy dog eyes I can muster as I put my hands in a begging position. "Please, please, please! Can this be our secret?"

"Huh, so my slave is asking a favor from me? And after almost killing me, no less." She says in a teasing tone, smirking devilishly. "But I guess I'll be benevolent this time and let it slide for now."

"Okay?" I say, slightly confused. "So you'll keep my secret?"

"What secret? I already forgot about it." She winks, and it takes me a couple of seconds to understand what that means.

"Oh, thank you!" I scream as I practically launch myself in her direction to give her a big hug full of gratefulness… only for her to move out of the way and make me fall to the ground, where I end up scratching my chin and hands. "Ow." I whimper.

"Come on, Chariot. Let's continue the lesson. I think we should still have enough time to work on your control… only with something less dangerous." She says as she gets up from the ground and dusts off her uniform. I just glare at her from my position still lying on the ground. How dare she dodge my hug?! "Perhaps an illumination spell? I bet even _you_ wouldn't be able to screw that up."

"Hey!" I exclaim, offended as I get up with a jump and pout at her.

"Come on, get your wand ready. There's not much time left." She just chuckles, clearly amused by my reaction, and I can't help but forgive her for her rudeness. Sure, she's a little rough around the edges, but she's been incredibly patient and understanding, even before knowing who I'm descendant of. And she didn't even get mad when I almost killed us and forced her to use magic. So… I guess I can forgive her for being rather obnoxious and teasing at times. If I'm being honest with myself, I don't even mind it much, because there's no malice in how she makes fun of me.

Anyways, where was that stupid wand? I guess it's time to continue with the lesson.

* * *

"So you're the descendant of one of the Nine Olde Witches?" Akko exclaimed, as a face-splitting smile appeared on her face when her favorite professor gives her a small nod. "That's awesome! Is that the reason why you're so powerful?"

"Ah… yes." Chariot answers reluctantly. "Magic inheritance is kind of a big deal, I suppose."

"But then…" Akko's smile, previously bright as the sun, starts dimming as she furrows her eyebrows deep in thought. "Since I'm the first witch in my family, does that mean that I'm never gonna be as good as Diana? Or even Lotte or Sucy?"

"Of course not!" Chariot's outburst startled Akko a bit, who stared at her with wide eyes, waiting for her to elaborate. "I mean, look at Croix; she isn't from an ancient family and yet she's always been better than me at virtually everything! Even if you have a lot of magic, it's useless if you don't put in the work to use it properly."

"More so, there are no real limits as to how much magic you can come to possess. If you keep working hard and practicing, the amount of magic inside your body will keep growing. And with how determined you are, I have no doubt you'll be one of the greatest witches of our times." Akko's jaw almost hit the ground as she heard her professor speak that way about her, and with such conviction and security. After all, Ursula more than anyone knew how much she always struggled casting even the simplest spells. "Just look at Diana. I stole her magic too, right? And yet she kept practicing until she got it back. Sure, she had a headstart because of her lineage, but that doesn't mean you can't ever be as good as her. I'm sure if she was here, she'd tell you that too."

"Y-yeah, probably." Akko stutters, blushing because of all the praise she's receiving.

"And speaking of Diana…" Chariot smirked. "We probably shouldn't keep her waiting."

"Waiting?" Akko inquired, tilting her head.

"Yes, come on." The professor stood up, giving no further explanation, and Akko decided it was better to follow her, even if she still was confused as to why their session was suddenly cut short.

* * *

Just as the professor expected, when they rounded the corner that lead from the Astronomy Tower to the main building, they came face to face with none other than Diana, ace student of Luna Nova and Akko's newest friend. Though by the way they acted ever since they saved the world from a deadly missile of pure hate, one would think they'd known each other their whole lives. Plus, with Akko being the adorable troublemaker and Diana the serious and collected prodigy, it was difficult not to compare the two with another certain pair of witches. Which maybe was part of the reason Chariot found herself wanting to encourage them to deepen their bond. There was no harm in giving them a little push, right?

"Professor Chariot. Akko." Diana greeted them with a little nod.

"Oh, Diana!" Akko exclaimed as she saw her friend, her eyes widening in surprise given what her professor had said earlier. "Were you waiting for me?"

"I was merely finishing my patrols." Diana replied with the composure you'd expect of a Cavendish. Even if Chariot did notice the small flicker of her voice as she lied. "It's almost midnight, after all."

"I see." Akko deflated slightly at the answer, though even she didn't know why.

"Would you mind escorting Akko to her room tonight as well?" Chariot asked, faking a yawn. "I'm too tired right now and I'd really like to go to bed as soon as possible."

"Or course, professor. It would be a pleasure." The ace student smiled politely, though if you looked closer you'd see a pleased twinkle in her eyes.

"Very well. Thank you." She turned around and waved as she walked down from where she'd come from. "Goodnight girls."

"Bye sensei!"

"Goodnight, Professor Chariot."

Once the older woman was out of their sight, Akko immediately turned to her friend wearing an overly excited grin on her face as her eyes practically shined with mirth and mischief.

"Diana~." She sing-sung.

"No." The blonde immediately denied, putting her hands on her hips in a strict pose.

"Aww, but…"

"Akko, as I told you last night… and tens of nights before that, stealing is _bad_." She answered, apparently undeterred by Akko's cutest pout.

"But who would even eat those tarts if I didn't steal them? I mean, we live on potatoes!" She exclaimed dramatically.

"They are probably for the teachers." Diana reasoned.

"Not for Ursula-sensei though." Akko pouted harder. "I bet Babcock eats them all!"

"And Professor Finnelan. And Headmistress Holbrooke." Diana sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "And probably all the oldest members of the faculty. Seriously Akko, if they buy so many tarts, there must be a reason."

"Maybe they want to dare the students to try and steal them." Akko countered, feeling cleaver. Which was obvious on the little smirk she wore on her face. However, Diana was not impressed.

"I seriously doubt that. Besides, it's not healthy to eat something so sweet this late at night." She tried another approach, hoping Akko would see reason somehow, though she wasn't holding her breath on that.

"I'm a growing girl! If I only eat potatoes I will never be taller than you! And I can't have that!" She exclaimed dramatically.

"And why is that, pray tell?" The taller girl frowned.

"Because you're my rival, of course! I have to surpass you at everything. Even height."

Diana resisted the urge to roll her eyes so hard they'd pop out of her skull. That just wouldn't work out on her favor, even if Akko could sometimes be rather exasperating (granted, she would be lying if she said she didn't find that to be adorable).

"I told you many times, Akko, that we aren't rivals." She then looked directly at those vibrant red eyes of the Japanese girl, trying to put as much emotion in her next words as possible, so that she could (hopefully) convince her just with that. "We're friends, are we not?"

"We can be rivals _and_ friends." Was Akko's snarky response. "And if we really are friends, then you are contractually obligated to accompany me to the kitchen and help me steal some tarts."

"Akko…" She started with a chastising tone.

"Oh, come on, loosen up a bit! You act too much like an adult some times."

"You mean responsible and mature?" Diana deadpanned.

"I mean uptight and boring!" Akko whined. "And I know that's not who you really are." She continued, grabbing Diana's hands and invading her personal space as she once did in the Cavendish manor. Diana could only blush and stare at her with widened eyes. "You need to take risks sometimes, to be silly and have fun! Act your age! Come on Diana, please." She pouted so hard that she would put the cutest puppies and kittens to shame (at least in Diana's opinion), yet this just left the blonde unable to breathe, much less speak, and Akko interpreted the silence as a no. "If you don't want to spend time with me just say so." She mumbled dejectedly.

"N-no, that's not…!" Diana quickly rushed to reassure her, not wanting her to think for even a second that she didn't enjoy her company.

"Great!" Akko cut her off before she could finish the phrase. "Then let's go before someone catches us!"

And before Diana could even think to protest, she was being dragged to the kitchens by a very excited Akko, unable to do anything about it. And unwilling too. Because just seeing her so happy filled her heart witch joy and warmth the likes she'd never thought she was even capable of feeling.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi! So that was chapter 4. I hope you liked it, and if you did please fav/follow if you haven't yet, and leave a review, it truly is a great help! Thanks for reading, as always and see you soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta readers moonwatcher13 and Colten Gillam.**


	5. A helping hand

**Chapter 5: A helping hand.**

"Honestly! In all my years of teaching I have never, even once, seen something quite like this." Finnelan ranted as she paced around her office, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was very much irritated, more so because it was very late at night (or very early in the morning). "I wholly expected this from you, Miss Kagari, but Diana? What on earth possessed our top student to, not only allow, but encourage such behavior?"

Diana had the decency to hang her head low and look truly apologetic, like she was internally doing a better job at chastising herself than Finnelan could ever hope to accomplish. Akko, on the other hand, had a defiant glint in her eyes as she stared directly at the professor.

"Come on, Finnelan-sensei, don't be like that. You speak like we killed someone, yet we only allegedly _tried_ to steal some tarts." The mischievous Japanese girl spoke, to the horror of her blonde friend.

"Akko!" Diana shrieked before turning to the older woman and addressing her in the most pleading tone she could muster. "Please forgive her. She didn't mean that."

"Of course I d-…"

"I, on the other hand…" Diana continued, cutting Akko off before she could dig her own grave any deeper. "Don't know what came over me. I should have never even thought about doing something like that, and all I can say in my defense is that I figured she'd be better behaved if I was present than if I let her go on her own. Still, this is no excuse and I will gladly accept any punishment you find fit."

"But Diana!" Akko immediately protested. "I'm the one who literally dragged you into this! I should be the only one getting punished."

"Akko! I can't let you take all the blame. All of my actions were fully conscious and voluntary." Diana responded.

"Silence." Finnelan snapped, her authoritarian voice immediately shutting down whatever arguments the girls had tried to make. "Diana, you are not going to make any more patrols at night, at least until the exams have ended. And both of you are going to do all the laundry, without any use of magic whatsoever, for the next five days. Are we clear?"

"But…" Akko tried to protest once more.

"Are we clear, Miss Kagari?" She repeated, looking straight at her in such a menacing way that all Akko could do ( _Akko_ , who had faced head on a nuke powered by pure hatred) was gulp and nod, feeling as her blood left her face. "Very well. Your punishment shall start tomorrow after classes. You are dismissed."

* * *

"Ugh, I really hate Finnelan!" Akko complained loudly while walking down the corridor with her two roommates and the three members of the green team. "If it wasn't for her I would have peacefully enjoyed a midnight snack with Diana, but no! She just had to come and punish us! And just when Diana was starting to open up. This will screw all the progress we'd made!"

"I still can't believe you convinced Diana to do that." Sucy cackled, showing off her sharpened teeth.

"You're leading her down a dark path." Amanda agreed, smiling as she put her hands behind her head. "Before we know it, she'll snatch away my place as the school rebel." She chuckled. "And then I'd have no choice but to challenge her to a duel to reclaim my throne."

"She'd totally kick your ass." Akko deadpanned.

"No she wouldn't!" She protested, but then Akko just snorted, Sucy snickered and Lotte looked to the side, like she didn't want to break her bubble. "She wouldn't!" Amanda reiterated. "Conz, Jas, come on, back me up here." She turned to look at her roommates, but Jasminka just shrugged and offered her a potato chip, and Constanze shook her head. "Ugh. You're terrible friends, you know that?" She grumbled, though they all knew she didn't really mean it.

Just then, they came to a stop in front of the stairs, which lead upwards to the third floor dormitory, and downwards towards the laundry, which meant they'd have to part ways there.

"Huh. So… I guess I'll see you guys later? Unless you want to help me?" Akko asked hopefully, alternating her gaze between her five friends.

"Nah, I'll let you have your fun with Cavendish." Amanda simply said.

"Just please try not to get the sheets too… wet." Sucy snickered.

"Wet?" Akko tilted her head. "We're gonna be washing them, so we actually _have_ to get them wet."

"I-ignore them, Akko." Lotte intervened, visibly flustered. "Just don't get in any more trouble and enjoy your time with Diana." She gave her a gentle smile. "I'd go help you, but I promised Barbara we'd discuss volume 249 of Nightfall today, so…"

"No, I get it. It's my mess and I have to clean it." Akko sighed. "But you go have fun without me." And with that, she waved them goodbye and started descending the stairs.

* * *

When she arrived to the laundry, Diana was already (unsurprisingly) there. She was just starting to fill up some of the buckets with water, and her back was to Akko, so she didn't notice when she entered. But the Japanese girl immediately made her presence known with an enthusiastic greeting, seeing as, even though this was technically a punishment, she was actually really glad to be able to spend some time alone with Diana. Granted, she wasn't sure why she was so excited, though as usual she chalked it up to wanting to get to know her new friend better and Diana was a lot more open when it was just the two of them.

"Diana!" She exclaimed as soon as her eyes landed on the stunningly beautiful blonde, who immediately straightened up from her crouching position in front of the buckets and turned around to face her. "Did you start without me?" Akko asked as she looked over the school prodigy. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail, didn't have her vest on, and the sleeves of her shirt were rolled up, which made her look more beautiful than she already was (at least in Akko's opinion). She'd only seen her like that once before; during the past summer vacations.

"I was merely collecting the water we'll be using." Diana responded as a smile appeared on her face. "I have to say, I am surprised you arrived so early."

"What do you mean? Are you insinuating I'm usually late?" Akko pouted indignantly, but her friend just laughed in such a carefree way that she couldn't really stay mad at her.

"Why don't you start scrubbing those sheets? I'll join you in a moment." She said while pointing to a pile of sheets at one corner of the laundry.

"Sure." Akko shrugged and went to do as she'd been told. Yet, she was never one to stay silent, so she decided to make some talk as they worked, and figured a good way to start would be apologizing for dragging Diana, the perfect student, into this whole mess. "Uhm… Diana?" She called as she picked up one of the sheets, and the other girl merely acknowledged her with a small hum. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She asked, still completely focused on her task.

"For, you know, getting us caught stealing pastries and getting you in trouble. I promise I didn't want that at all! I just wished to share a little midnight threat with you, and those tarts are just so delicious! And… yeah. Sorry. I promise it won't happen again." She sighed as she poured some water on the sheets and started scrubbing a little more forcefully than necessary. She felt incredibly guilty in that moment, which had never happened before even if she had a tendency of getting all her other friends in trouble too.

"I really don't mind, Akko. I already knew what I was getting into when I decided to become your friend." Diana said as she placed two full buckets next to Akko, and smiled gently when the brunette looked up at her.

"But still!" Akko kept protesting. "You're always so perfect, and you have a reputation to maintain. And I wouldn't want to compromise that."

"I assure you I don't care about losing my reputation, if that's the price of being your friend." Diana chuckled, like she was telling a joke to herself. "Besides, you didn't compromise it; I did."

"Huh?" Akko tilted her head, more confused than ever.

"I accepted your invitation to go steal sweets late at night, despite knowing the possible consequences." She explained. "I'm as guilty as you, if not more so."

"I bet you regret listening to my stupid ideas." Akko sighed.

"Akko." Diana shook her head, unbelieving that her friend was still mentally kicking herself for something that didn't really bothered her. "Let me ask you something. Are you happy whenever I spend time with you or go along with your antics?"

"Uh…" Akko trailed off, looking to the side and feeling as guilty as ever. Still, she decided to tell the truth; she was a terrible liar anyways. "Yeah."

"Then I don't regret it." Diana spoke with such finality and wearing the most kind and beautiful smile Akko had ever seen. And she felt her heart skip a beat at the sight as blood rushed to her cheeks.

"D-Diana! You can't just say things like that!" Akko protested, avoiding meeting her gaze lest she got any more flustered. Granted, she didn't even know _why_ she was getting flustered.

"Why not? It's the truth." She answered calmly as she went to kneel next to Akko and took another sheet to wash. "Now, I think we should get back to work."

And so, she poured some water and started scrubbing like a true professional. They kept working in silence, but Akko couldn't help noticing that, by the time Diana had washed two sheets, she was just finishing her first. It was just like that time, at the washing competition made by the fairies during the past summer vacation, when she had once invited Diana to be on her team and had been truly surprised at how good she was. She had thought, with her being a spoiled rich girl and all, that she wouldn't know a thing about manual work of any kind, but alas she was proven wrong. But still, she wondered _why_ Diana was so good at this, being that she herself had seen she indeed had servants that tended to her every need. So Akko being Akko, decided to just ask.

"Hey Diana, how did you learn how to wash?"

"Uh?" Diana paused on her work and regarded her, no doubt surprised by the sudden question.

"It's just weird, with you being rich and all, and I was wondering." Akko shrugged.

"Well…" She paused, frowning and looking distressed for a moment. "Remember how my aunt wanted to sell our family's relics?" Akko nodded. "That's because she's never worked a day of her life and still decided to live like she had all the money in the world. Of course, this caused our fortune to disappear very quickly, and soon enough we couldn't afford to have as many servants as would be required to maintain the mansion in pristine condition." She sighed. "They were already working too much in order to satisfy aunt Daryl's every wish, so I decided to lessen their workload a bit." A smile then appeared on her lips like she'd remembered something funny. "Anna would always chastise me whenever she found me washing my own clothes or cleaning up my room, but I continued doing it anyways. I just didn't want to be a bother."

"Diana…" Akko let out a dreamy sigh she didn't register until later. Honestly, she didn't even know what to say because it was just like Diana to be that considerate with everyone. After all, wasn't the Cavendish motto affection? And Diana was definitely living up to it.

"W-why are you staring at me like that?" Diana let out a nervous chuckle and looked to the side, finding Akko's awed staring to be overwhelming, even if she was more than used to being praised and admired by her classmates. But it just felt different when it came to Akko for reasons she couldn't fathom.

"You're so kind." Akko smiled. "I can't believe I thought you were just an obnoxious prissy rich girl when we first met!"

"To be fair, I wasn't exactly nice to you." Diana sighed, slumping her shoulders as shame took over her.

"Nah, you just pointed out my flaws and chastised me for breaking the rules." Akko brushed it aside. "It was mostly Hannah and Barbara who bullied me."

"And I never stopped them." Diana stubbornly protested.

"They were your friends, and you probably didn't want to fight with them." Akko argued. "Honestly, it's fine! We're all cool now, and it's only because of you that I even managed to save the world and return to Luna Nova, instead of freezing to death in Blytonbury, so… yeah. I guess we're even." Akko gave her a cheeky smile that Diana couldn't help but reciprocate, and she even found herself thinking that, if this was what being punished with Akko was like, she wouldn't mind doing it more often.

"Thank you, Akko." She said.

"For what?" The brunette tilted her head confused.

"For being my friend."

* * *

Akko arrived to the top of the Astronomy Tower late at night, after her punishment had ended and she'd walked Diana to her room. Technically, she didn't have to study with Ursula-sensei that day because her next exam was magical philosophy and she was pretty good at it, but… she really enjoyed their time together and she couldn't wait to hear more about her idol's story. So that's why she ended up going uninvited to her professor's chambers.

"Ursula-sensei!" She exclaimed as she pretty much barged in. The professor was wearing a red tracksuit and didn't have her glasses on, and was standing on the balcony upstairs looking out of the window, but jumped out of her skin at Akko's greeting and almost dropped something she was holding, but after doing some juggling with it, she was able to secure it on her grip again.

"Akko! What have I told you about doing that?" She chastised her as she looked at her from the balcony.

"Ah… sorry" Akko rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I was just so excited, you know? I don't have to study for tomorrow's exam, and so we'll have all the time for you to tell me about your lessons with Croix and stuff, right?"

"You should be in your room." Ursula sighed, stuffing the object on her pocket as she made her descent. "Even if you're very good at magical philosophy, a little bit of study won't hurt you."

"Please, please Ursula-sensei!" Akko whined, putting up her best puppy dog eyes. "I promise I'll get a good grade in tomorrow's exam, but please tell me more stories."

"Akko." She sighed and shook her head. "Why can't you ever accept a no for answer?"

"Because if I did, I would have never come all the way to England just to study magic." She shrugged, smiling. And her smile was so genuine and carefree that Chariot couldn't help smiling back and deciding to give in.

"Very well then." She gestured to her couch. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll be with you in a second."

Akko did as told and watched as her teacher pulled a small object out of her pocket and tucked it inside the top drawer of her desk before going to sit next to her. And of course she couldn't contain her curiosity.

"What was that?" She asked.

"Nothing important." She answered, but she was a terrible liar, and her blush gave away she clearly was hiding something. So when Akko looked at her with a skeptical gaze, she decided to change the subject. "Uhm… anyways, do you want to hear about the first time I went to Croix's lab with her?"

"Oh, yes sensei!" Akko's eyes practically shined at the prospect, and the professor simply chuckled.

"Alright." She said, before looking around her room. "As I told you already, her secret lab was in this very tower which had been in disuse for a long time. Neither of us had gone back in there since our very first meeting, but after about a week of daily lessons with her, mostly focusing on my technique with casting spells, she apparently decided I probably wasn't going to blow up her lab and invited me to go with her."

* * *

I'm walking towards the east dormitory to meet up with Croix as usual for our daily lessons. For the past few days she's taught me some new spells, like the illumination spell, or the flavoring spell. Granted, they are for beginners and it still took me days to master them, but progress is progress and Croix is an excellent teacher. So of course I'm rather excited about what she'll teach me today! Maybe some illusion magic like I requested? Yes, she told me that we should focus on the spells that will be covered in class, but… illusion spells are just so pretty! But precisely because they're beautiful and fun and I like them, they aren't taught here. At least not in the first year.

But who knows? Maybe if I pout really hard I can convince Croix. Maybe. Even if it didn't work last time.

"Chariot." Croix's voice pulls me out of my thoughts and I look up to see she's in front of me, though I haven't arrived to her room yet.

"Oh, hi Croix!" I greet her cheerily, giving her my best smile, but she just remains with a cold expression. Weird. She usually smiles at least a little.

"So… Today I can't tutor you because I've got homework." She starts, frowning. "But I was wondering if you could come to my lab with me? It's still a mess and I can't really clean it in my condition, so…" She trails off, looking to the side, obviously embarrassed about having to ask for help. Even when that was the deal from the very beginning.

"Yeah. Sure, I'd be happy to help." I answer, because really, after everything she's taught me, that's the least I can do.

"Alright then. Follow me." And with that she walks past me towards the stairs that lead to the third floor and I quickly hurry up to follow her.

All the way there we stay silent. Even when I do try to make some small talk, she barely answers with grunts, so I give up after a few tries. I suppose she's not in the mood to talk. But I don't have much time to ponder about that because, once we arrive, I realize her lab is exactly as we left it; covered in soot, broken parts of metal, and full of trash and electronic equipment. I don't think she even _tried_ to clean it.

"Uh… So…" I trail off, looking at all this mess. "Where should I start?"

"Put all the trash in a bag and leave it in a corner. Then just use some water and one of those cloths to clean everything." She points to a pile of old rags that look as dirty as this whole place. Seriously, I'm starting to think she hasn't cleaned it _at all_ since she started using it.

"Alright." I sigh. It's not like I have a choice.

"I'll be at the desk doing some homework, but do inform me if you need anything or if you have any questions." And with that, she leaves me there while she takes one of the notebooks at her desk, opens it and goes to grab a quill. I shrug, resigning to my fate, and go to do as she asked (well, _ordered_ would be more precise).

First I grab a black bag she had next to her desk and peer into it. It only has some wrinkled papers inside, so it should be enough. Then I start searching for empty ramen cups throughout the whole expanse of the Astronomy Tower (seriously, there's even a few upstairs, next to the window), taking care to only throw the empty ones in the trash, while putting the others on the box that's next to the couch, where she keeps all her food. If _that_ can even be called food.

I work mostly in silence, though I do hum some of my favorite songs to keep myself from getting too bored, and soon enough there are no more ramen cups, empty or otherwise, scattered around. I then figure that, before cleaning anything, I should probably put some order in here. Maybe I should ask Croix first though? Nah, she seems to be very concentrated on whatever she's doing, and would probably get mad if I interrupt her. More so considering she already appears to be more grumpy than usual.

So first I take a look at all the technological junk she has lying around. How should I organize it? I mean, I don't even know what the majority of these things are for, so… maybe just based on size? I think it'd look pretty. And so, I start moving them all around, placing them under the balcony in a semi-circular formation following the shape of the room. First the televisions, car batteries, computers and such, then laptops, radios, and videogame consoles, and then walkie-talkies, cellphones, cables, disks and also those weird little rectangular things (memories, or something?).

I'm just about to finish though, when suddenly I trip on one of the cables still lying around and I end up falling and dropping everything I had in my hands… which is a cellphone, a CD and some work tools. The cellphone breaks in two, the CD shatters into pieces and the work tools loudly clatter to the ground. I scream as I end up hitting the ground face first, and my nose feels like it's been pushed into my skull.

"Chariot?" Croix says as she stands up, undoubtedly having heard the commotion, but I'm too busy trying to get up and stop my ears from ringing to actually answer her. "Chariot, what the heck are you doing? What… look at what you did to my cellphone! Do you think those are easy to find?! And how am I supposed to find anything here?!" She starts yelling at me as I try to get up and make some sense of her words. Honestly, I only register she's angry at me, and when I open my eyes and stare at her, I see her eyes full with rage and frustration, her eyebrows knit in a tight frown, and her mouth forming an angry snarl.

I take a step back on pure instinct and look down to avoid her angry stare. She's never been so angry before, not even when I kept getting a spell wrong for more than an hour.

"I-I… I'm sorry. I just thought I should organize your stuff so it would be easier to find." I try to defend myself, but I can practically feel her glare at me and that makes me want to cower in fear and shame.

"Did I ask you to move my valuable equipment around?! No! No, and you know why? Because I didn't want you to! This is my lab, you are my assistant, and you have to do everything I tell you! Nothing more, and nothing less, okay?!" She keeps yelling, each word feeling like a sharp stab to my chest. I just wanted to help, and yet I ended up screwing everything up. As usual. And now Croix is mad at me.

"I'm sorry." I whimper, and then a sob escapes my lips and I realize tears have also started forming on my eyes. But I can't do anything about it. "I'm sorry, I'll fix it! I can use a repairing spell… granted, I've never casted it successfully, but, maybe if you…" I trail off when I look into her eyes again and I see her looking at me with a mix of guilt, confusion and some remaining anger. After a moment of silence though, she sighs, looks to the side and finally answers.

"I think you should go." She says, slightly more calmed, but her posture remains tense. "I'm not feeling well, and I'm afraid I'm taking it all out on you."

"N-no, Croix! I was being a complete idiot. I should have asked you before moving anything, and I should have been more careful! You have every right to be angry." I argue, even though I can't deny that her yelling at me did affect me. Not when my eyes are still wet with unshed tears.

"Look… I don't care whose fault that was." She says as she closes her eyes and starts rubbing the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. "But I just… I think I'd be better off alone." She finishes, but the way her voice cracks a little at the end makes me realize something is very wrong. That she isn't moody just because. That it's not a matter of having simply woken up on the wrong side of the bed. And before I can stop to think if it is a good idea, I find myself asking.

"Is everything okay?" My voice ends up sounding more concerned than I intended, but with how strange she's been acting today, I can't help thinking that whatever is affecting her isn't a simple matter.

"Well… no." She answers, opening her eyes to look at me like she's surprised I even asked. "I mean, I just said I'm not feeling well."

"Well, yes, but like… did something happen? You've been acting rather weird today." I then chuckle and make a joke to try and lift up the mood. "More than usual, that is."

"Weird?" She chuckles too, though she doesn't sound happy at all, and the smile she has doesn't reach her eyes. "You mean grumpy."

"That too." I shrug giving her a gentle smile that she doesn't see because her gaze is fixed on the ground.

"Uhm." She frowns. "I suppose it won't hurt to tell you." She finally concludes. "You remember I told you I can't use magic because of my injuries?" I hum in acknowledgement and she continues. "Well… I _have_ been using magic. Just a spell here and there to help with daily tasks, like dressing myself or taking notes in class, since I can't use my right hand either."

"Croix!" I gasp alarmed as I remember how much it hurt her to use magic during our first study session.

"I know, I know. It was stupid." She snarls, glaring at the ground as though it was all its fault. "But the nurse had told me my magical injuries would be healed in about a week, so I thought they were superficial and a couple of spells from time to time wouldn't make much of a difference." She draws out a long sigh, frustrated. "But today I went to the infirmary to get my hand checked and it turns out I am banned from using magic for another month or so. And my physical injuries aren't doing any better. I'd try and find a cure or something to heal faster, but that's out of the question because I can't use magic!" She practically yells, clenching her left fist in anger as her face turns red and her breath comes out labored. She's really agitated because all of this. Not that I can blame her; not being able to use your right hand is bad enough, but to also become unable to use magic? I can't even imagine what that would feel like.

"I'm sorry." She says, once her breathing has come down to normal and her muscles are slightly less tense. "I did it again, didn't I?"

"It's okay, I get it." I assure her. "You're frustrated, and no one can blame you for that. But you should have told me sooner! Then maybe I could have been of more help."

"I'm not used to asking for help." She laughs, though it still isn't really happy. "I'm Croix Meridies, the prodigy of Luna Nova! The best witch to ever live! I can't ask for help from some first-year." She jokes, but something tells me she's actually partially serious. Maybe that the way she says this sounds kinda sad. And that makes me sad. I don't like being sad, though, so I decide to make her happy.

"I'm your slave though, so it's okay for you to give me orders, right? That was the deal. You help me with my studies, and I do whatever you ask me to do." I say, smiling. "You could order me, for example, to help you make a cure for your magical injuries."

"I certainly could… but I don't know if that's a good idea." She laughs, sounding slightly more sincere this time. "For now though, I have to write an essay for tomorrow, and my left hand isn't good with that task, so… help me?" She gives me a hesitant smile, like even she can't believe what she just said, but then she clears her throat and looks to the sides embarrassed. "Uh… I mean. Help me. That's… uh… that's an order."

"Sure thing boss." I smile, turning around and going to sit at her desk, where I find a page full of strange symbols that can hardly be called letters. I honestly don't understand a thing, and for a moment I'm afraid it's written in gnome language or something like that. But then I realized that no; these are just Croix's poor attempts at writing with her left hand.

"Yeah… not my best work." Croix says as she comes to stand next to me.

"How will this work then?" I ask. "You dictate and I write it down?"

"Sure." She shrugs.

"Then let's start!" I exclaim. And sure, this isn't like the fancy work in a crazy lab I imagined when I thought about helping Croix, but it's a step closer. And if it keeps her from hurting herself while trying to do magic, then I'm glad I'm doing it. Hopefully now she'll be less angry too; she truly is scary when she yells. Plus, it's nice to see her accepting help, since she's obviously too proud for her own good.

Maybe this is a sign of a growing friendship. At least, I certainly hope so.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, this chapter was WAY longer than I intended, probably because I got caught up with all the Diakko. But it was fun to write. Still, reviews are very much appreciated so I can see if you're liking this or not, so please don't hesitate to tell me your opinion.**

 **Thanks for reading, and see you in two weeks! :)**

 **Thanks to my beta readers moonwatcher13 and Colten Gilliam.**


	6. Illusion magic

**Chapter 6: Illusion magic.**

Akko sipped happily on her tea as she listened to her professor tell her about her school days. It was fun, to be honest. It felt nice not to have to study like crazy for the exams hoping to obtain a somewhat decent grade for once. Sure, this relative calm probably wouldn't last more than a day, but she was determined to get the most of it while she could. And so, she eyed her professor intently as she narrated her story, and realized she found it way easier to concentrate on that than on her lessons.

"...After that, we spent a few hours getting her homework done, and she made a point to help me understand what it was about. She patiently explained everything, sometimes over and over if necessary. To be honest, I don't even remember a word of what she said." Chariot giggled, seeming truly happy as she recalled the events. Her smile actually reached her eyes. Akko had only seen her smile so brightly in a few occasions; mainly when she talked about Croix.

"Sensei?" She asked.

"Yes, Akko?" She answered, turning to look at her student.

"Do you miss her?" She didn't know if she should even be asking such things. Sure, she was close with her teacher, but that didn't change the fact that she was still her _teacher_. But then again, that had never stopped her before. And besides, she looked like she needed someone to talk to.

"Her?" Chariot turned to look at her with a surprised face, obviously not having expected her to make that question.

"Croix-sensei." Akko nodded.

"Ah… well, that's… I mean, it's… complicated." She grimaced, looking down at her tea cup. "She was my best friend for so long. We loved each other like you could never imagine…" She sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead like she was starting to develop a headache. "But then she also did some very awful things and got sent to jail. And yet she _did_ promise to find a cure for Wagandia, and… honestly I don't know how to feel about her anymore."

"But… you _do_ miss her, right?" Akko asked, slightly confused by her answer. It all didn't seem that complicated to her. Sure, Croix had done some villainous things, but then she helped them save the world and the two teachers had parted ways on good terms. And Ursula spoke so fondly of her! Why did she say she didn't know how she felt, if it was apparent just by how her eyes shined every time she was reminded of her old friend?

"I-I… well, I suppose I do miss Croix. I've missed her for so long." She finally admitted as she looked over at the wall where she had the picture of the two of them when they were younger hanging from a nail. "I wished so many nights she would come back and everything would be like it used to…" She frowned. "But then she did return and she was this supervillain who wanted to destroy everything I hold dear and… I don't know. I guess a part of me is afraid that she's just pretending to be good now, only to hurt me once again when I let my guard down."

Akko didn't miss the way her teacher's shoulders tensed, or how her fists clenched until her knuckles turned white, or the way her breathing became more labored and her eyes shined with unshed tears. She'd never seen her quite like that, and she didn't like it. It felt wrong to see her so distressed! And so, she placed a hand on her back and started rubbing circles trying to soothe her. Granted, it was a little awkward, seeing as Akko had never really done something like that for any adult. Much less her teacher and idol.

"H-hey, sensei. It's okay. I-I… we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She reassured her, mustering up the kindest smile she could make.

"Thank you, Akko." Chariot said, but her voice still sounded strangled, and her eyes were wet when she turned to look at her student. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this." She said as she wiped her eyes using the palms of her hands.

"It's okay, sensei. I was the one bringing up topics I shouldn't have asked about." Akko assured her once more.

"Still. I'm sorry." The professor insisted. "Do you want to hear a more cheerful story, perhaps? How about the time Croix finally taught me illusion magic?"

"Only of you're okay with it." Akko answered, not wanting to involuntarily cause her dear teacher any more distress.

"It's fine." She waved it off. "I honestly enjoy telling you about the good times."

"Uhm… okay then." Akko shrugged. Her teacher still didn't appear to be completely composed, but she sensed she needed to change the subject, and honestly she wouldn't mind hearing about how Chariot learned one of her specialties. Plus, she was always in the mood for a good, happy story.

"Alright." She nodded, rubbing her chin in thought as she remembered the events. "So, after I finished cleaning Croix's lab (with her supervision this time), we would spend each evening either there or at the fields, studying the theory of various subjects, doing our homework and practicing different spells. One of those days I decided to ask her to teach me illusion magic."

* * *

I arrive to Croix's lab at the usual hour, wearing a happy smile on my face. Happy because I don't have homework today, and by what Croix said yesterday it seems like she won't either. _And_ I already know all the spells I'll need to pass my exams without blowing everything up for once! I know Croix probably wants to keep working on my technique and control (areas I'm still lacking in), but I've decided that today I want to have fun! I want to learn more about the magic that entranced me so much as a child. I want to learn illusion magic.

"Croix! Hi!" I greet her as I charge into the lab as usual. Of course, she's reading a book at her desk as she usually does, and doesn't even look up when I greet her.

"You're late." She answers curtly.

"Five minutes late is still on time." I argue, puffing out my cheeks.

"Sure, sure." She shrugs before finally turning around and meeting my gaze. "Now, I was thinking that today we should study the basics of elemental alchemy, since you're still severely lacking on the subject and honestly it's not one of my specialties, which is why we haven't dwelt on it too much." She pauses, turning around to search for a book. "Now, if I remember correctly from last year, your first exam should cover…"

"Wait, Croix." I interrupt her. "I was thinking… I mean…" I bit my lip, suddenly nervous about actually voicing my request. After all, I don't want to make her angry, but when she keeps staring at me with a raised eyebrow, clearly upset that I interrupted her, I decide to just go for it. "Uhm… m-maybe we could do something more f-fun? Just for today?" I smile, but because of my nervousness I'm sure it looks more like a grimace.

"Fun?" She practically spits out the word, looking at me with contempt. "You think magic is for _fun_?"

"Well… I mean… it's okay to use it just for fun sometimes, r-right?" I answer, looking to the ground as I'm too nervous to meet her gaze. I feel rather chastised right now. "After all, the only reason I decided to become a witch is that… w-when I was a child, magic brought me so much happiness, and I just want to share that happiness with everyone in the world, you know?" I finally chance to meet her eyes as I said the next words. "It's… is it bad to wish for something like that?"

She holds my gaze for a few more seconds, so many emotions and hesitations reflected in her eyes that I can't be sure if she's mad at me or not, but then after what feels like an eternity, she deviates her gaze with a heavy sigh.

"I suppose that, even if we're both witches, you're allowed to have your own motivations and desires." She frowns. "I mean, I don't think I've ever done magic _just_ for fun, but I guess it can't hurt."

"So you'll teach me illusion magic?!" I practically jump in excitement.

"If that'll finally make you stop whining about it everyday, then sure." She shrugs, trying to appear annoyed, but being betrayed by the small tug at the corner of her lips that form the subtlest of smiles. "Come on, let's go to the fields." She gets up and starts walking to the door, gesturing me to follow her. "I'm sure even when casting harmless magic you'll find a way to cause an explosion and I'm too fond of my lab to allow it to happen here."

"Hey!"

* * *

We arrive at our usual clearing in the forest just a few minutes later, and as usual she asks me to get out my wand. I take it off my sash, as she requested, and try casting the only illusion spell I know. This one I didn't learn it in any book; it's the first and only spell my grandma taught me… before she died. It's the spell that made me fall in love with magic and the only thing capable of bringing me joy even in my most desperate hours, so I'm rather fond of it. But I always wanted to learn more magic like this one, and unfortunately there was no information about it in any of the books I've read so far.

The spell I cast is simple enough; just wave my wand around making sparkles of raw magic appear from thin air as yellow butterflies sprout out of nowhere and start flapping around us in a beautiful dance that never fails to put a smile on my face. Nowadays, I'm able to do it with almost fifteen butterflies, and sometimes I even manage to change their colors! But when I was little I could control a maximum of five before I was overwhelmed by the effort, so that's an improvement. Even if I wished I could do more.

"Not bad." Croix says, intently eying one of my butterflies. "At least you know the basics, but I need to make sure you understand the theory behind illusion magic. What do you know about it?"

"Uh…" I trail off, dispelling the shiny forms as I look to the side, unsure of how to respond. "Well… illusion magic creates illusions, right? Things that aren't really there."

"Correct." She smiles, and I sigh internally in relief I didn't make a fool out of myself again. "Illusion magic can't create physical objects because it's just a projection of whatever is in your mind; imagination is really the only limit when it comes to it."

"Okay! And what's the spell?" I ask, unable to reign in my enthusiasm as I pretty much invade Croix's personal space, which of course prompts her to take a step back and give me a warning glare.

"Seriously? You just casted it!" She answers frustrated. "There's no way you already forgot about it."

"Well… no, but… I just thought there were _other_ spells. More fancy, awe-inspiring, over-the-top ones. Not like the magic I learned before I could even walk!" I protest, hoping Croix will just laugh, say she was joking and proceed to teach me more awesome spells, but to my surprise (and disappointment) she just shrugs.

"That's illusion magic to you; it doesn't require fancy words to be casted, and there's no need for any special wand-waving tricks. Anything you can imagine will come to life as soon as you pour some magic into your wand." She explains. "The only difficult part would be maintaining the spell and being able to control it, since even a little distraction can cause it to disappear."

"Really? And just like that I could make… I don't know, a realistic looking dragon, if I just concentrate?" I ask.

"No." She deadpans. "For something to look realistic you need to work with concrete materials, so metamorphosis magic would be better for that purpose."

"Which then means anything I create with illusion magic will look like those luminous butterflies?"

"Yeah. Exactly." She nods. "That's why most people won't use it."

"Oh. Okay." I don't know if I'm feeling disappointed or excited. Probably a very weird combination of the two. On one hand, I wanted to make more realistic illusions, but on the other, my butterflies made of light look prettier than real butterflies, so there's really no telling how much more wonderful a bird or a lion made of illusion would be compared to the real ones, so…

"Allow me to demonstrate." Croix says, probably noticing how torn I am about this new information. But as soon as I see her getting out her wand with her left hand, I'm reminded of something very important.

"Wait!" I grab her hand, pretty much panicking. "You can't do magic yet."

"It's just a simple spell. I should be fine." She says nonchalantly.

"Doesn't it hurt?" I argue.

"Not as much as before." Croix shrugs. And I'm baffled to see how little she worries about her own body.

"Croix!" I chastise her. "No. I'll do it, and you'll just tell me how I can improve, okay?"

"But I want to do magic! I'm so tired of being completely useless." She pouts in frustration, and even though a part of me thinks that seeing the prodigy Croix Meridies do that is super cute, I know I can't allow her to hurt herself just because she wants to show off.

"Croix, _no_." I reiterate with as much authority as I can. And to accentuate my point, I give her hand a gentle squeeze. This of course, causes her too look down to our joined hands and realize I haven't let go of her during our whole conversation. Instantly, she takes a step back and pulls away from my grip, looking awkwardly to the side and blushing.

Right. I forgot she's not a fan of physical contact.

"Just cast the stupid spell then." She grumbles.

"Okay." I sigh. Why does she have to be like this? I was just trying to help! Anyways, I guess it's time to concentrate on what I want to do. I mean, it's not like I've never ever tried to do something other than just butterflies with this spell, but it's never really worked like I want. Maybe I'm just too unfocused? I can never quite decide what I want to create. A phoenix, maybe? Or a giant bear? Oh! Maybe a wolf! Or perhaps a faerie? Uhm… What about an angel? That'd look pretty. Wait… I'm doing it again, aren't I? Okay. Let's focus. Make the first thing that comes to mind and be done with it, Chariot. One, two three!

I pour some magic into my wand and as light starts coming out of it I try to shape it into… something. Come on, be a… a… what was I trying to make again?

"Nice shapeless blob." Croix smirks, being as sarcastic as ever. I just pout at her.

"I'm trying, okay?"

"Just relax, clear your mind." She chuckles. "Come on, take a deep breath and close your eyes."

I pout at her for a second longer, but then follow her instructions; she's the boss after all. Okay, eyes closed, breath steady… now what?

"Chariot, I can see you practically shaking in excitement." She deadpans. "I said _relax_."

"But…"

"Clear your mind." She quickly cuts off my protests. "Just focus on what I'm saying, okay?"

"Hmf. Okay." I say grumpily.

"Alright. Now… everything is black, okay? You only see black."

"Is that your soul?" I tease.

"Chariot." I can perfectly imagine her glaring at me by her annoyed tone of voice, but I just chuckle and then proceed to concentrate on what she told me to do. Black. Okay. Black. Huh… what about a black horse? Nah, it'd look prettier in white! Or even pink! Yes, pink is pretty. Wait… stop it Chariot. Black. Everything Black. Okay, good.

"You got it?" Croix asks after a while, and I answer with a curt nod. "Good. Now… imagine there's a bird. A dove."

"Okay…" I nod as I imagine a pretty boring white dove inside my head.

"And now make it blue."

"Right."

"And imagine it flying in circles."

"Got it."

"Good. Don't forget that image, and just pour magic into your wand." I nod, following her instructions. "Alright... Now open your eyes."

As soon as I do just that, I'm filled with the most astounding vision ever. A blue bird. But not just _any_ bird. It looks like it's made entirely of blue flames of cold fire. And yeah, the shape is kinda like the dove I imagined but _bigger_ , and more majestic. I can't help immediately wanting to touch it.

I extend my hand towards it as it passes flying next to me, but once my hand touches the blue flames that form its body, I notice it's just like touching air. Like the dove isn't really there, and the contrast between what appears to be real and what my senses are telling me, startles me. Instantly, my creation disappears.

"As soon as you start doubting of its existence, the illusion will be dispelled." Croix explains. "Pretty intuitive, really."

"I-I… I did it!" I exclaim, barely paying attention to her and smiling so much my cheeks start hurting. "I actually used illusion magic to create something other than just magical butterflies! I-I… yes!" I start jumping in excitement as I swing my wand creating some sparkles just for fun. My heart is racing from the exhilaration, and I'm feeling giddy, _restless_. It's so good to see I can actually use magic to make something impressive and fun! I was starting to feel a little disappointed with my classes here at Luna Nova to be honest.

"Yes, you actually did it." Croix says, smiling genuinely, which makes her look a lot less grumpy than usual. "It was very impressive. You're a fast learner now that I think about it, which is good because I'm not all that patient."

"Fast learner? Come on, you just said that's a spell for little kids." I try to shrug off the compliment, blushing slightly as I always do every time Croix says something positive about me.

"Well, yeah, but it still took _me_ a few tries to learn, and I made a simple unmoving sphere of light, not a flying bird." She chuckles.

"Wait… then why did you make me do that, if you really thought it was so difficult?" I pout.

"I wanted to put your powers to test." Croix answers nonchalantly. "Honestly, teaching a descendant of one of the Nine Olde Witches makes for a very interesting experience."

"I'm not one of your experiments!" I exclaim indignantly.

"Sure, Chariot, whatever you say."

* * *

"So… like this? Am I doing it right?" Akko asks, looking at her wand from which no magical birds are popping out. At one point, their little talk about Chariot's past had ended up turning into a lesson on illusion magic, but as always Akko was struggling more than she'd like to admit.

"Yes, just draw more power, and concentrate." The teacher encouraged her. "It's very similar to using metamorphosis magic."

"Which I'm still struggling with." Akko reminded her.

"Nonsense!" Chariot said, smiling gently at her student. "So what if your transformations aren't realistic? They're honestly more fun to watch."

"Uh… yeah, I guess." Akko shrugged. "After all, Shiny Chariot's… uhm, _your_ transformations weren't exactly realistic either."

"See? Now come on. You have to have a very clear image in your mind."

"Okay." Akko sighed. She'd been at it for almost an hour now with practically no results. At first she thought it was because she wasn't able to concentrate long enough to pull it off, but she was starting to think it had more to do with her lack of magic.

"Don't get discouraged Akko, I have faith in you. You've done more difficult things than a simple illusion spell." The professor tried to cheer her up a bit when she saw her getting so visibly frustrated, glaring at her wand and pouting like that.

"Yeah… yeah!" Akko exclaimed after a moment of thought. "I rode on the Shooting Star, and stopped Croix-sensei's missile! This is just a piece of cake. I'll be making glowing dragons in no time!"

"But maybe start with something simple?" Professor Ursula tried to calm her down a bit, even if her enthusiasm made a smile appear on her face. "Something inanimate that you're familiar with, like…"

"The Shiny Rod!" Akko cuts her off before she can even come up with anything to say.

"Ah… yes, that's a great idea, Akko!" The professor answered, smiling brightly at her. "Come on, let's try that."

"Hai!" She nodded, readying her wand and closing her eyes in order to be able to concentrate more easily. Fortunately, she had spent so many hours just staring at the Shiny Rod trying to memorize every little detail on its shape, and even its color and texture, that making a clear image of it on her mind was no problem at all. But then it came the difficult part; summoning as much magical energy as she could and hoping it would be enough to make the spell. She tried for a few seconds, but when she opened her eyes a crack she still didn't see anything, so she closed them again and scrunched her eyebrows tighter together searching on her entire body for every little bit of magical energy she possessed and redirecting it to her wand, casting the spell.

This time, when she opened her eyes out of breath and feeling her temperature rising because of the effort, she saw a replica of the Shiny Rod floating in front of her, except it was bright yellow and appeared to be entirely made of light. But aside from that, she'd gotten the shape and size correctly. She almost reached out to touch it, except she didn't want to break the illusion.

"Yes!" She cheered, jumping in excitement. "I did it! I learned a new spell and it took me less than an hour!"

"That's great, Akko!" The professor smiled, genuinely happy for her student… and then she was tackled into a hug by the overly enthusiastic Japanese girl. And the only reason she didn't fall back I surprise was because of her impossibly strong legs and quick reflexes.

"Thank you! Thank you sensei, you're the best!" Akko practically squeezed the life out of her, but Chariot didn't have the heart to pull away, and instead found herself smiling fondly at her student as she also wrapped her arms around her.

"You're welcome, Akko. It's the least I can do, really. I'm just glad you still allow me to be your sensei." If Chariot was honest with herself, lately she lived just for moments like this. Akko had brought to her life the joy and warmth she'd thought for so long she'd be unable to experience ever again. Akko gave her a purpose, and a new dream. All she wanted now was to see her student fulfill all of her dreams and become a great witch, and to be with her every step of the way, doing everything she could to help her.

"Of course! You're the best sensei ever!" Akko smiled with one of those smiles that were so happy even the coldest souls couldn't help but reciprocate. "I'm gonna go show Lotte and Sucy right now!" She said as she broke the hug. "Oh, and maybe Diana too! I bet she's never practiced such fun magic."

"Wait, Akko. It's already past curfew, you can't…" But Akko had already run out of the Astronomy Tower as she shouted "Goodnight, sensei! See you tomorrow!" before the professor could do anything to stop her.

And while, yes, technically she could chase her down and accompany her all the way to her room in a poor attempt to make sure she wouldn't wander the halls after curfew, she figured that if Akko really wanted to show her new magic trick to all her friends that night there was no earthly force able to stop her.

And besides, she was quite tired since she'd had a very long day dealing with Finnelan criticizing the exam she'd prepared for Monday, and having to do some corrections on the deputy headmistress' request. It was like that every semester, so she didn't know why she was even surprised. But perhaps she'd hoped that after so many years of teaching at Luna Nova Finnelan would trust her more. Looks like it would take at least ten more years of her being Ursula to make up for her years as Chariot the troublemaker.

Sighing, she sat down at her desk and looked at the photo on her wall, instantly feeling a little pang of pain in her heart as she gazed at her former friend. How many years had they even treated each other in a friendly manner? Three? And they'd been apart for ten. Yet it felt like it was the other way around. Her heart longed for her. It hurt every time she imagined Croix in prison, alone and with no one to talk to, treated like a dangerous terrorist… which in all fairness, she kinda was.

She really wanted to see her, or at least talk to her, but…

Chariot opened her top drawer and got out the little flat and rectangular piece of technology that Croix had given to her before going to prison. How had she said it was called? A cellphone? No, something more like… intelligentphone? Or something? She remembered thinking that it wasn't really surprising that even Croix's phones were intelligent. She'd said it wasn't that hard to use, and she'd given her a paper with written instructions of how to use it as well as the number she had to dial to communicate with her, but… there was something stopping her every time she even tried to turn the damned thing on.

She didn't know what it was. Maybe fear. Maybe uncertainty. Maybe the overwhelming realization she had no idea of what she was going to say. Or maybe it was just that she knew she'd be unable to speak once she heard Croix's voice, and she'd appear like a complete idiot in front of her. Maybe it was all of that combined what made her sweat cold as butterflies appeared on her stomach every time she even eyed at the stupid intelligentphone, or whatever it was called.

Either way, she knew she was not ready yet. And she hated herself for being a complete coward, but still, she ended up tucking the phone away in her drawer one more time.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! This chapter was a lot of fun to write, though it hurt a bit to write Ursula being so sad and missing her girlfriend (and yes, they'll see each other eventually, but you gotta be patient for that). Anyways, please review if you enjoyed and see you in two weeks :)**

 **Oh, and have a merry Christmas!**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	7. The Fountain of Polaris

**Chapter 7: The fountain of Polaris.**

After completing her magic philosophy exam, Akko walked confidently to the desk at the front of the classroom and put it next to the professor's fish bowl, smiling brightly at her.

"Piscis-sensei, I can't wait to see my grade on this exam! I bet I'm going to get at least an A!" After all, it had been about the ethical uses of common spells, and honestly she thought it was just a matter of having common sense.

The professor moved her mouth, barely making any noise, but Akko was still able to understand her clear as day.

"Huh? You say you have no doubt about it? Thank you! I'll see you tomorrow, sensei." And with that Akko was out of the classroom and rushing to find her friends. With exams' week almost over, she figured she had earned a little relaxation time, at least for the rest of the day, and she had to celebrate how she had actually been able to understood the questions of one exam enough to answer appropriately. However, before she could even make it to where she'd usually wait for her roommates, she was stopped by a firm, yet beautiful voice.

"Akko! You know you're not supposed to run in the hallways." There was no doubt about it. Only one person could have such a wonderful voice that still made dread set into Akko's stomach when it was used in a chastising tone. Diana Cavendish.

Akko came to a stop in a second, almost falling over due to the inertia, and turned around to meet the gaze of her fellow classmate. Diana looked as prime as ever, and had a hand on her hip as well as a raised eyebrow. And those blue eyes looked as cold as a glacier as she stared into hers. So Akko could just gulp, give her an awkward smile and rub the back of her neck before responding.

"Ah… sorry?"

"Are you apologizing for ignoring the school's rules for the millionth time or for almost giving Hannah and Barbara a heart attack last night when you came barging into our room at less than appropriate hours?" Diana asked, crossing her arms over her chest in a disapproving manner.

"I just wanted to show you my new spell, I didn't think they went to sleep so early!" Akko argued, but she still felt a pang of guilt when she remembered the panicked faces those girls had when they jumped out of bed and ended up falling to the ground, holding each other tightly and trembling in fright.

"You call 2 A.M. _early_?" The blonde couldn't keep the irritation from showing on her voice.

"Uh… yes?" Lotte stayed up way past that hour reading, and Sucy doing crazy experiments, so it was usual for Akko to stay up late as well.

"Akko! I…" Diana paused, pinching her nose and taking deep breaths in an obvious attempt to calm down and stop chastising the Japanese girl as it was custom before they became friends. "Okay." She sighed after a few moments. "It's alright, just don't do it again." She finally said, opening her eyes and looking at Akko.

"I can't make any promises." Akko chuckled, knowing how impulsive she could be sometimes, and not minding at all the prospect of seeing Hannah and Barbara's scared faces one more time. But when she saw Diana's unamused expression, she quickly rushed to assure her. "But I'll do my best! And… maybe I can make it up to you? Somehow?" She tried giving her a pleading smile, hoping to look as cute and harmless as a puppy. She really didn't want Diana to be mad at her. "I can carry your books for a month, if you want."

Diana rubbed her chin, making a thoughtful expression as gears no doubt turned in her head. After a few seconds, however, she smiled and nodded, having come to a decision.

"Well… this weekend I'm going to the Last Wednesday Society to pick up some things I ordered a while back. Would you mind going with me? I might need some help."

"Uh… sure." Akko shrugged. Spending some more time alone with Diana seemed pleasant enough, and was therefore something she wouldn't mind in the slightest, so she'd do it anyways even if she didn't owe her friend.

"Wonderful." Diana smiled, her eyes gaining back the usual warmth they had when she spoke to Akko. "Now come on, I believe we have washing duty today."

"Oh, I'd totally forgotten about that!" Akko whined, earning a giggle from the blonde, which gave the Japanese girl some hope that this session would go as well as the last one.

* * *

"Do we really have to do this? I'm tired." Akko complained, crossing her arms over her chest and reclining on the chair at which she was seated in Chariot's room. "Do you have any idea how many sheets I had to scrub today?!"

"As many as Diana, I presume. And she's probably still studying instead of whining." The professor answered, undeterred by Akko's daily complaining. The Japanese witch just huffed and kept staring blankly at the wall, knowing that her sensei was 100% right, and not wanting to admit it.

"Akko…" Chariot started, once it was clear her student wasn't about to get back to work on her own. "You have a very important exam tomorrow. History has never been one of your strong suits, so you have to put in even more effort than usual."

"I know." She pouted. "But can't we at least take a break? I can hardly concentrate anymore, much less understand anything written in these boring pages!" She glared at her book, as if wanting it to spontaneously catch fire. "I really hate History."

"What's wrong with History?" Chariot asked, amused.

"I didn't come to this school to learn about what boring old witches did thousands of years ago! I came here to learn how to do wonderful magic, able to bring fun and happiness to everyone who witnesses it! Just like you!" She exclaimed, accompanying her words with exaggerated moments of her arms, so the professor had to grab her tea cup to make sure it wouldn't fall, but she still stared fondly at Akko, and at the big, innocent, smile she gave her. Like she still admired her despite knowing about what she had done.

Instantly, she felt a nice warmth spread through her chest, and ended up returning the smile to her student.

"I know, Akko. That's a beautiful dream." Chariot said. "But, you know? Even though I once had the same dream as you do, I still had to learn History, and I hated it as much as you do, but it helped me in the end." She chuckled. "It was actually because I had to study for a History exam that I even found the Fountain of Polaris."

"Really?" Akko instantly strengthened up and regarded her intently, obviously interested in that last piece of information.

Knowing that she'd made a fatal mistake and that Akko wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything until she'd told her everything about what she'd just mentioned, the professor sighed and got up from the chair.

"Alright, let's take a break. I'll tell you about the Fountain of Polaris, but afterwards you have to promise to keep studying until we're absolutely sure you won't fail tomorrow's exam, okay?"

"Yes!" Akko jumped, throwing her arms up in a display of glee. "Please, please, professor!"

"Alright, take a seat then. I'll just go prepare some tea, and then start the tale."

* * *

"Croix…" I practically whine from my spot, lying on her couch and watching her study. I've been here for hours, hoping she would help me study for my exams (a.k.a. she'd tell me everything I need to know in a simplistic manner and then we'd keep talking about diverse topics), but she also has an exam tomorrow, unfortunately, and so she just keeps reading, and studying, and reading some more… and I'm so _bored!_

"Chariot." She answers with an exasperated huff, and without tearing her gaze from the book at her desk. "Seriously, I already told you; if you have any specific questions you can ask me, but for now, Just. Keep. Studying. _On your own_."

"But studying is so _boring!_ " I complain.

"Not everything has to be fun." Is her curt answer.

"But magic is supposed to bring happiness to everyone." I exclaim, smiling as I remember how happy I was when I was able to perform illusion magic just a few days ago. Now _that's_ how you use magic.

"Magic is something to be taken seriously." She interrupts my happy memories with her cold attitude. "You have to work hard and study in order to use it, you can't just expect to learn it in just one day without putting any effort at all."

"I do put effort into learning!" I protest.

"I know, but considering your background, you should be practicing ten times harder than anyone." She finally looks in my direction, giving me a stern gaze, but I shoot her my best pout in return, earning a long sigh. "Look, I know it's difficult for you, but with how quickly you've improved, I believe you have great potential; you simply lack education." I smile at her compliment, but when she notices, she adds. "Education that you will find in these books." To emphasize her point, she takes one of my books (which was lying on the floor near her desk) and offers it to me.

I pout, but ultimately relent, taking it. She's the boss, after all.

"History of magic is your next exam, and it's one of your worst subjects. You should get to studying." Is all she says before going back to work. I want to protest once more, but ultimately decide against it. She's right; I'm doing rather poorly in all the theoretical subjects. I may have stopped blowing everything up in the more practical fields but I still don't excel either. I need better grades across the board if I want to convince the headmistress that I deserve all the opportunities she's given me… before she regrets it.

And so, with a resigned sigh, I turn to lay on my back and open the book on the second chapter: The history of Luna Nova. Great. I'll fall asleep in like five minutes.

 _The prestigious school of Luna Nova was founded by the Nine Olde Witches during the year 460 AD, after they had restored magic back to the world._

Wait… restored the magic? What happened to it? The last thing I remember hearing in class was that, during the Great age of Magic, the magical power was nearly infinite, and covered the entire world. Oh… but then the teacher said something about it dying? Because of the witch hunts or something? Which is where The Nine come into play I guess.

 _The first headmistress was Professor Woodward, and during the time she guided the school, from 460 to 523, the other Olde Witches worked as professors, contributing to the formation of many powerful and renowned witches, like Agatha Moon the seer, or Rachel Shade the alchemist._

I yawn. This is indeed very boring! Why should I care about nine old witches from the fifth century?

 _At the time, the building of Luna Nova was considered a masterpiece of architecture, a feat only able to be accomplished with the aid of magic. On it, many secrets were kept, like a sanctuary dedicated to the headmistress Woodward, where her spirit is said to reside to this day, as well as the mystical Fountain of Polaris that grants the power of the stars to those who possess hidden radiance._

Wait. This actually sounds interesting. The power of the stars? Maybe if I obtain it, I can actually become a good student. Plus, it sounds like something magical enough to bring happiness to just about anyone in just one second. I need to find it! And it's here at Luna Nova! But… I guess not _really_ here. It must be at the North Campus. Oh well, I was planning on visiting Arcas soon anyways.

Putting away the book, I get up with an energetic jump and start walking decidedly towards the door… until Croix's voice stops me.

"And just where do you think you're going?" She asks. I freeze in my place and turn to look at her with a guilty smile. She's predictably unamused.

"To… visit Arcas?" I say, but it sounds more like a question.

"Arcas?" She raises an eyebrow. Oh, right. I haven't told her about him!

"He's my polar bear!" I answer proudly, but she just looks at me like I'm crazy. "Well, I mean, _technically_ he isn't mine, but he only obeys me, and I've been visiting him every year after he saved me when I was six so…"

"A polar bear, you say?" Croix asks, apparently still processing my words.

"Yeah. I met him when I came to Luna Nova the first time." I explain. "My aunt wanted to talk to the headmistress, and I got bored and wandered off. I was so transfixed by all the magic that I didn't even notice when I somehow ended up in the North Campus. I started exploring it, but when I was climbing the stairs, they gave out and I nearly fell to my death." I giggle. "But something had grabbed my collar just in time, and when I was safely on the stairs again, I saw my savior was a polar bear cub." I smile at the memory. "I showed him what little magic I could conjure at the time, and then he escorted me back to the main building. We've been friends ever since."

"Okaaaay." Croix continues looking at me incredulously. "So… the polar bear that almost ate me last year is yours?"

"He did WHAT?!" I shout, earning a glare from my friend, who is now covering her ears. "I told him not to attack my friends!" I pause then, remembering something. "Though, technically, we hadn't even meet then, so I guess he didn't disobey." I hum in contemplation. I guess I'll have to introduce him to Croix, so this won't happen again, though I doubt she'll go to the North Campus again; it's prohibited to everyone but me. But then...

"Wait, what were you doing at the North Campus anyways?" I ask.

"Searching for the Fountain of Polaris." She shrugs nonchalantly, but my eyes widen at her words.

"You know about the fountain?!" I ask excitedly.

"It grants the power of the stars to those with hidden radiance." She sighs. "I thought the texts were talking about power of the _Claiomh Solais_ , which is often referred to as the rod of seven stars, but… it only offered me weird visions of the past."

"Well, your radiance isn't exactly hidden." I point out. She tries and fails to suppress the smile that promptly forms in her face; I just know she absolutely _loves_ being praised, and reminded just how good she is at magic. Of course, I have no problem of doing that at every opportunity, since she's so amazing. "I'll go visit the fountain too and try my luck. Who knows? Maybe I'll get the power of the stars."

"Shouldn't you be studying instead of chasing myths and fairytales?" She deadpans. "The exams start tomorrow!"

"It won't take long." I assure her. "And besides, maybe if the fountain does grant me its power, I'll be able to pass with flying colors. And without having to study."

"That's not how magic works!" She yells, getting as worked up about this as always. I just roll my eyes as she starts scolding me yet again. "You can't just rely on it to solve your every problem in the blink of an eye without having to work for it! You are so talented, Chariot; you are probably the most powerful student at the school, and when you put any effort at all, you're able to cast even the most advanced spells." She pauses, fixing me an angry glare that actually makes me flinch. "If you worked even half as hard as I do, you'd already be the best student Luna Nova's ever had. But instead, you're just a lazy dunce, and all your talent is wasted!"

I take a step back, surprised by Croix's reprimanding. Sure, she's got mad at me because of this before, but this is the first time I've seen her so angry. And really, I don't think I'm doing anything wrong! Studying… taking a book and reading it for hours like Croix does… it is just too difficult for me. My attention span isn't exactly the best, and there are many concepts that I don't understand because I didn't have anyone to teach me growing up. I thought Croix understood that, even if everyone else in the school does not. I thought she supported me.

But seeing those furious eyes, looking at me with contempt… I feel actual physical pain inside my chest as the first sobs start shaking my body. I try to stop them, putting a hand over my mouth, but then the tears start falling and, not wanting Croix to see me crying, I bolt out of her lab, ignoring her yelling my name.

* * *

I don't even know where I'm going, just that I want to be away from Croix, so when I finally stop in order to calm down, it's a surprise to find myself at the edge of the North Campus. Wiping my tears, I sit down at the small stone wall that stands only about one feet tall, not caring about the sharp rocks feeling uncomfortable with only the thin cloth of my skirt to protect me from them.

Ever since I can remember, magic was the only thing that brought me happiness. Well… no that isn't actually true; there were plenty of things. But it was the thing that brought me the _most_ happiness. I still remember how my grandma would conjure bright sparks of power in the middle of the night just to make me smile, and the day she gave me a makeshift wand! It wasn't very powerful, and I could barely make one or two spells at the time, but it was still the best thing of the world back then.

And then she died, and with her, all magic disappeared from my life. But then my aunt brought me to Luna Nova, saying this would one day be my school. I couldn't wait! I would whine and ask the headmistress to accept me in sooner, but she always told me to be patient and study on my own in the meantime. And I did. I put in effort to understanding those old dusty books written in incomprehensible runes. And every time I was able to cast a spell, I felt the most powerful and exhilarating emotion in the world, making me see it was all worth it; that magic was fun. Magic was happiness. It was always happiness for me.

Naturally, I thought that entering a magic school would be a never ending happiness paradise… and I was wrong. So wrong.

I didn't have anyone to teach me magic, like every other girl did. More so, my family hasn't set foot in a witching school for over 400 years, so the knowledge available in our small library was very limited. And I also have never been good at studying. It's all a winning combo for disaster, and I was soon known as the dunce of Luna Nova; the worst student to have ever been accepted in the otherwise prestigious school.

My teammates hate me, and barely ever let me do anything in class, saying they don't want to flunk the year because of me and my natural talent for disaster. The other girls at school think I'm funny and laugh whenever I fail at casting a spell, but I don't think they understand what I'm going through; for them, I'm just the class' clown. And the teachers are so very impatient, and many want to see me expelled as soon as possible, believing a girl like me has no business attending a school like this one.

Holbrooke is the only one who believes in me, but even she rarely helps me out beyond reducing my punishments or asking a professor to give me another chance. And Croix… I only met her a few weeks ago, but I thought we already had a very special kind of friendship. She's been very patient while tutoring me, she doesn't usually get mad when I screw up, and she often tries to explain things in a simplistic manner so that I'm able to understand. She's always been so kind, considerate, and downright wonderful with me, even though we just met, and… I thought she believed in me too.

And well, she did say that I have power, or something, but she also called me a dunce. She just doesn't understand me. She can't see how much I'm struggling, or how much effort I have already put into learning magic.

But… if there's really something like the Fountain of Polaris, if it could grant me the answers I'm lacking and make me a good witch, it would prove to everyone that I'm exactly where I belong, that I'm not just a stupid girl playing magic games. I would feel accepted, and no one would mock me anymore. And Luna Nova would be the paradise that I always imagined.

If I could just find it… If I could prove that Croix, and everyone else, is wrong about me…

Suddenly, I feel something nudging my back with so much force that I end up falling over, landing on my hands and knees. I turn to glare at the guilty party, and sure enough, end up finding a very large polar bear in the spot where I was just seconds ago. But I can't stay mad at him, not with how happy he looks to see me after I haven't visited in about five days.

And so, I run to greet the not-so-little devil, running my fingers through his soft fur before hugging his massive head.

"Who is a good boy? Who is? Yes, you're a good boy!" I say, continuing to pet him until I'm interrupted by a lick to my face that makes me recoil, trying to wipe the saliva with my uniform's sleeves. "Gross." I giggle. But as I stare at him, at the four-pointed star on his forehead, I remember something Holbrooke told me long ago: Arcas is the guardian of the fountain, a descendant of the original polar bear raised by one of the Nine Olde Witches. Maybe he can lead me to it? And then I could prove to everyone that I do belong here.

"Hey, Arcas." I say, scratching his chin as I know he likes it. "Say, do you by chance know where the Fountain of Polaris is?" Arcas then nudges my chest with his nose (making me stumble a little) before turning around and walking towards the inside of the building.

"Do you want me to follow you?" I ask, already walking behind him. He, of course, doesn't answer, and instead just keeps walking through the ruins.

I have to admit, it looks rather creepy during the night. And to think this was once the main building of Luna Nova, but now is in such a deteriorated state; full of cobwebs, with the walls falling apart, marks of fire painting the once white-stones black… to think so many witches died here, trying to defend their home.

I wonder, if my ancestors hadn't died during the witch hunts, if they had escaped with the rest… would I be any better at school? Would I feel more at home in Luna Nova?

Suddenly, I feel as my feet hit something in the ground and I end up tripping, only to have Arcas' head stop my fall. I give him an appreciative smile as I pat his ears.

"Thanks." I say before continuing walking after him. I really shouldn't get distracted.

It isn't long until we're outside… well, kind of. This part of the building doesn't have a ceiling, the grass is growing on the ground, and the walls that once protected it are now only stone arcs about to fall apart. It really doesn't look all that special, so why did Arcas bring me here?

He nudges me forward, pointing with his snout to a wooden arc that's on the edge of the building. It looks like a portal into the Ley Lines, except there are seven stars shining on top of it, forming the Big Dipper.

I approach slowly, not sure if this is really my destination or if it's just a normal portal, but when I'm close enough, there's a flash of light coming from inside the arc, but instead of revealing a Ley Line, it shows a luminous path, leading all the way up into a platform in the middle of a starry sky.

"The fountain!" I exclaim before running inside the arc and towards the magical object. I finally found it! I will get the power of the stars and show everyone I'm not incompetent; that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.

I stop only when I've reached the platform, taking just a moment to catch my breath and admire it. It's a big ball of water that shines with magical power, surrounded by an infinite swirl of sparkles that raise from the stone fountain below it. I'd try and touch it to see if it actually feels like real water, if I wasn't afraid of losing my chance at getting what I want.

Closing my eyes, and pressing my palms together as if I were praying, I speak to the thing in question, hoping it's the right way to do it.

"Please, can you give me what I desire? The power I need to get recognition, to find my place in the magical world?" I pour all my emotions into those words, remembering all the times I was bullied or humiliated by my classmates, all the frustration I felt every time I failed to cast a spell, and all the pain it caused me to hear the teachers scolding me time after time.

But nothing happens, and I end up opening my eyes to check if the fountain is still there. And it is… and it's showing me something.

* * *

There, between the waters of the floating ball, there's the clear image of a girl, probably around my age. She has her green hair tied up in a tight bun, and is wearing a grey dress that also has a high neck and long sleeves. She's at a town, playing with some kids, and the scenery looks like something straight out of the middle ages; carriages pulled by horses pass through a cobbled road, the women walk around the market buying food, and laughing amongst each other, while the men come from the distance covered in dirt and looking exhausted, carrying with them tools for plowing.

The girl, however, doesn't seem to be paying attention to her surroundings as she waves her wand and shows the kids some magic. Butterflies made of light appear out of thin air and make their way up to the sky, where thy explode into a beautiful display of light magic, resembling fireworks.

I smile as I see the kids giggling happily, utterly entranced by the show this girl is putting up for them. That's my dream! I also want to make people happy using the power of magic, just like that girl!

But then the people, that had been previously just minding their own business, look at her with scared eyes, pointing fingers and yelling at her to go away. Some even get out torches and pitchforks, with the clear intent of hunting her down.

Of course. During the Middle Age, and up until the Golden Age of magic, witches were hunt and often killed. I find myself fearing for the girl's life, but she just frowns briefly before grabbing her broom and flying away before she's in any real danger, all the while waving to the kids and smiling kindly, even when they're taken away and reprimanded by their parents. The kids, however, don't take their eyes off the sky, as the young witch leaves a trail of shining sparks that slowly descend over the town, making the children marvel at the display.

I end up smiling again. That girl surely was persistent.

The image then transitions to another scenery, resembling a cottage in the middle of a forest. The young witch, now appearing a few years older, arrives there. She's changed her clothes and is now wearing a traditional witch hat with a four-pointed star on it, a black dress and pointy black shoes, all of those clothes resembling the Luna Nova uniform. She also has her long hair down, flowing freely on the wind.

She leaves her broom outside the cottage, along with other eight that had been parked there, and enters. Inside, there are already eight witches about the same age as her, all varying in ethnicity and wearing clothes that have symbols clearly representing their respective clans, or families, or something. Actually… their hats kinda look familiar. Have I seen them before somewhere?

Before I can dwell on it too much, I see as the green haired girl starts talking to the other eight with clear enthusiasm. They all give her weird stares, but hear her out anyways. When she finishes talking, however, they all express their opinions, and I may not know what they're saying, but it can't be nice, since the witch's head starts hanging low and a sad frown appears on her face. At first she tries to answer them, but her arguments are promptly shut down by the other voices. She's at the verge of tears when she shouts something, startling everyone into silence. That's when she extends her hand and makes an object appear on it.

It's a golden staff with seven gems encrusted on it. I don't know what it is, but it appears to be important enough for the other witches to stare in awe, silently agreeing to give her a chance to prove herself. One of them, a witch with long and curly blonde hair, even appears to challenge her, since she walks out of the cottage wearing a determined face after the blonde speaks; the others following close behind.

Once they are outside, she moves around the staff, shouting something and obviously trying to make some magic… but nothing happens. The other witches shake their heads, mumbling in disappointment, and one by one, they take their brooms and fly away, leaving her alone in the forest. Sad and frustrated.

The next scene shows the young witch studying, reading as many books as she can. She even disguises herself in order to travel around the world, visiting many different libraries, secret collections, and even rescuing several books that were going to be burned. She doesn't appear to be the type to study much though, because even when she's sitting with a book on her hands, she keeps glancing out of the window, sighing in frustration. But she doesn't stop.

She also starts practicing magic, being discovered many times and having to run away. And other times, she just ends up failing and getting frustrated. But she keeps practicing with the golden staff, until one day the gems finally are illuminated, and she's able to cast a powerful spell that opens up a portal.

She then visits the other eight witches and shows them her new power. At first they are skeptical, but one by one, they are convinced by her displays of magic and her vast knowledge. Then, one day, the nine witches reunite at the cottage again, and they chant and dance together, making a powerful spell that makes their magic meld and be transferred into the staff, before the girl (who actually is now a woman), raises it and shouts something.

A powerful wave of magic instantly erupts from the staff, traveling through the world and giving hope and happiness to anyone who sees the magical shooting stars crossing the sky.

In the next scene there are many witches, creatures, and even some non-magical people, working together as they make a building; carrying stones and placing them together to give form to the walls and arcs and halls. It's a slow process, sure, and sometimes it's raining, and sometimes they're all too exhausted to even keep standing, let along working. And they even have to defend their unfinished construction a couple of times from people seeking to destroy it. But the nine witches that started it all never give up. They work hard, not minding how difficult it is, until at the end they are finally able to finish constructing... Luna Nova?

Yes, it's Luna Nova! Well, the North Campus, at least. Even if back then it wasn't in ruins, it's easily recognizable, with its tall arcs and white stones.

And then witches of all ages and nationalities start arriving, seeking a place where they don't have to hide, and they can just do what they love. Even some girls from non-magical linages arrive, eager to learn magic even though it's prohibited on the world outside those walls. They all thank the now-headmistress with wide smiles on their faces, and happily attend to the witching paradise she created.

And after years and years of hard work, pain and tears, the young witch is finally able to smile without worries, seeing her dream finally come true, surrounded by her friends, and living in a place where she won't be persecuted anymore; a place where she belongs. Where she's respected and loved.

And _she_ was the reason such a thing was possible at all.

* * *

The image slowly fades, and this time the fountain doesn't show me anything else. In that moment, I understand; the fountain has given me its answer. It won't give me the power of the stars.

I feel my heart constrict with pain as I start processing all that was shown to me and, more importantly, _why_ it showed me such things. But I don't want to stay there to be reminded of my foolishness, and so I turn around and start running, not realizing the fountain has disappeared until I run into something… or rather _someone_.

"Ow!" I hear as my body comes to contact with hers. Thankfully, she's strong enough to keep us standing, even if we do stumble a little. I immediately open my eyes and look up… only to be met by Croix's face _way_ too close to mine. We both jump back in surprise and I stare at her with confusion. What is she doing here? Where is Arcas?

"C-Croix?" Is all I manage to say, still shaken by what the fountain showed me.

"Chariot." She drops her previously-raised arm and looks to the side, avoiding eye contact. "I was… uhm… searching for you." She says nervously.

"Why?" I tilt my head, even more confused.

"Because…" She grimaces. "What I said… I'm sorry. It wasn't my place to scold you like that, a-and I didn't mean to make you upset."

Oh. So _that_ 's what this is all about.

"You don't have to apologize." I say, looking to the ground with a sad gaze, as I remember everything the fountain showed me. "I get it now; you were just trying to help me."

"… Huh?" Is her (understandably) confused response.

"I came here looking for the fountain, and it… " I swallow, feeling tears burning in my eyes, and I have to close them in order not to let them fall. "It showed me that recognition isn't something others give to you; it's something that has to be earned through hard work." I choke down a sob. "A-and that you don't simply find your place in the world; you make it."

"Oh, Chariot." I hear her voice become gentle and warm as she slowly places her left hand over my shoulder. The touch is light, like she's unsure of what she's doing, but it's so very there that I can't help shooting my head up in a second to look at her with wide eyes. She just gives me a small smile in return. "I know it's hard realizing there's no magical fix to all your problems, especially when magic is everywhere in our lives, but don't feel bad. You have the potential to be great, and do amazing things. You just have to put a bit more effort, okay?"

"Thank you, Croix." I answer, wiping my tears. "I'll do it. Just wait. I'll become the best witch you'll ever see."

"Second best." She smirks.

"Huh?"

"Because _I_ will be the best." She replies, making me roll my eyes in response.

"Of course." I still say, smiling at my friend. She's too full of herself for her own good. But I still like her, despite everything. And I know that, together, we will accomplish many things.

"Come on, let's get back so you have some time to study." She turns around and starts walking towards the main building. I quickly run to follow her, groaning in response.

"I don't wanna!" I whine out of habit.

"I thought you'd learned your lesson." She answers with an exasperated sigh.

"Oh, right! I have to put an effort. Yeah. You're right." I giggle sheepishly, and she just shakes her head in amusement.

"Seriously, what am I going to do with you?"

"Help me?" I answer, giving her the best puppy dog eyes I can muster. As expected, she blinks before averting her eyes and trying to put up a blank mask.

"Uh… I suppose it is my responsibility, as your tutor." She answers after a few seconds of silence.

"Yay! Croix, you're the best!" I move in to hug her, but she extends her arm, placing it between her and me.

"Keep your hands to yourself or you'll be spending the night alone at the library." She warns me with a snarl, and I end up raising my hands in surrender. Of course one light touch of her hand won't change anything. I need to let her open up at her own pace.

"Sorry, sorry. My bad." I say, turning to look back at the ruins that are the home of my polar bear. Speaking of which… where's Arcas?

"I put him to sleep." Croix answers. I must have said out loud that last part.

"You did WHAT?!" I turn to glare at her.

"He'll be fine, I promise."

"He better be, Croix Meridies, or I swear I'm gonna kill you!"

* * *

 **A/N: Well, this chapter was more fun to write than usual, especially imagining what the fountain may show Chariot. And also Croix being her usual grumpy self. I love her XD. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a review.**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	8. An(other) explosive incident

**Chapter 8: An(other) explosive incident.**

Akko skipped happily up the stairs of the Astronomy Tower in the early Sunday morning. The sun was bright in the sky, providing warmth and light that made the school look a little less constrictive and old than usual. Her feet felt light as they carried her towards her destination, and she couldn't stop smiling as she hummed a little song without even being conscious about it. She felt light, she felt happy, she felt… just wonderful. She didn't even mind the fact she'd had to study practically all day, she didn't feel the least bit tired. Last night had been the best she had slept in a long time… even though she hadn't made it to her bed.

"Sensei!" She exclaimed as she entered the tower without even knocking first, as usual. "I'm here! Will you help me study as you said?"

"Oh, Akko!" The professor exclaimed in surprise, almost dropping some books she was carrying.

"Here, sensei, let me help you!" Akko said, taking the books off of Ursula's hands and carrying them over to the desktop.

"Thank you." The professor smiled kindly at her student, giggling a bit when she noticed her struggling with the books that, for her, were as light as feathers. "And yes, yesterday I made sure to finish all my work so I could dedicate today solely to help you study for your upcoming exams."

"That's great!" Akko said, more enthusiastically than usual and radiating such happiness that he professor just couldn't stop smiling.

"My, someone is on a good mood today." The professor noticed as she took a seat on her desk. "I assume your date with Diana went well?"

"It was wonderful!" Akko affirmed, the insinuation flying right over her head. "We went to town, and she bought some books and other boring stuff, but then we went to eat something, and I was like "Hey, have you seen Kiki's delivery service?" and she was like "I'm afraid I'm too much of an aristocrat to watch anime" and I was like "Eeeehhh?! We have to rectify that!" And then we snuck into Constanze's secret workshop and borrowed her projector and then spent all evening watching Studio Ghibli's films!" She finally paused her passionate detailing of the events from the previous day, but only to take a deep breath and keep talking. "I mean, I kinda fell asleep halfway through, and unwillingly used Diana as a pillow, but still, it was amazing! Even if Constanze wasn't so happy to find us there in the morning… She even threatened us with a gun! But yesterday was nonetheless the most fun I've had in ages." She giggled with mirth as stars practically shined on her eyes. Just thinking about it made all everything else seem insignificant in comparison. There was only space for Diana in her brain.

"Uhm… I'm sorry, I got lost in Kiki's delivery service." The professor interrupted her daydreaming. "Is that a movie or something?" Akko instantly gasped like Ursula had just said the worst blasphemy in he history of blasphemies.

"Wait… YOU HAVEN'T SEEN KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE EITHER?!" When her professor timidly shook her head no, Akko could only keep gaping and staring at her like she'd grown a second head. "Man, he have to change that, but I don't know if I could handle another anime marathon two days in a row…" She trailed off, unsure of what to do. After all, Kiki's delivery service was one of her favorite movies when she was a kid (she even made her parents buy her a black cat and named him Jiji), and the other Ghibli films were classics too, and she couldn't have her teacher and idol keep living on without knowing them. But Constanze would probably shoot her on sight if she caught her wandering in her lair again, so…

"It's okay. We can leave that for another day." The professor answered with a kind smile. "Today you need to study, so why don't we get into that?"

"Ah… yeah. I guess." Akko answered, all the enthusiasm and energy she'd been radiating before evaporating off her body.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad." Chariot chuckled at her student's reaction. "Tomorrow's exam is…"

"Astrology." Akko slumped.

"Yes, and I do expect you to have a good grade on the subject I teach."

"It'd be easier if you taught… I don't know, illusion magic or something _fun._ " Akko answered with a huff. "I mean, you're literally Chariot. _The_ Shiny Chariot. And yet you're here teaching _Astrology._ "

"Finnelan would probably kill me if I asked to teach _fun_ magic." The older witch chuckled. "Plus, I really think astrology isn't all that bad. Predicting the future makes for a rather interesting experience, I would say."

"Humh." Akko pursed her lips. "Like when Diana predicted I'd leave the school."

"Yes." The professor shrugged. "But interestingly enough, once you predict something, especially something as specific as that, it's more likely to not happen."

"Then why even bother predicting stuff?" Akko pretty much whined.

"You'd knew it if you paid attention in class." The professor teased, and Akko just pouted in response. "Come on, Akko. The sooner we start, the sooner we'll finish."

* * *

"I see… uhm… The Cancer constellation is… uh… in line with the moon, right now?" Akko struggled, her eyes closed as she concentrated on trying to read the stupid magical stars she'd had conjured up with her wand.

"And what does that mean?" The professor prompted as she took a sip from her tea.

"It means… that, like…" Wasn't Cancer usually associated with the moon? She recalled Ursula saying something like that the other day during the class about zodiac constellations. But she couldn't remember much more. Yet, if they were aligned that had to be a good thing… right? "It's good? For Cancer people."

"For people born under the sign of Cancer." Ursula corrected.

"Right. Right." Akko quickly rectified.

"And… what else? You have to be more specific than that if you wish to pass tomorrow's exam." The red haired woman said in what she hoped was a strict voice. Truth to be told, she wasn't planning on failing Akko after she'd spent so many hours studying with her, and on _Sunday_ , but she had to make her work for it nonetheless.

"Uhm…" Akko sweated, trying to feel the connection between he celestial bodies through the magical bond they shared, but it was still very confusing. Too many connections! Some bad, some good, but what did it all mean? Wait, hadn't her sensei said the exam would be almost exclusively about the zodiac? Maybe she should focus on that. Let's see… Cancer seemed to have a strongest connection with that other constellation (what was it's name?) Bull? Cow? No… Taurus! Yes, Taurus, like the Minotaur. And it was tinted red, which meant…

"Aha! Cancer people will have a good chance at love with Taurus people!" Akko grinned, sure she'd gotten it right.

"Very good Akko." Her teacher complimented, and the poor Japanese girl almost instantly dispelled the illusion that honestly was draining all her energy with a sigh of relief. "Okay, that's all for the practical part, but I need to see if you also know the theory."

"Ugh." Akko groaned as she unceremoniously threw herself into the chair.

"Come on, just a little bit more." Ursula tried to encourage her. "Tell me, people born under the Cancer constellation are born during…?"

"Uhm…" Akko scrunched her nose as she tried to dig such information from the deepest confines of her mind. She couldn't remember much, except that… she herself was Cancer? Yes, she seemed to remember something like that, so… "June?"

"Which dates?" Ursula asked again, apparently deciding she really liked torturing her student with impossible-to-answer questions. Why couldn't zodiac signs be determined by month? That would make her life so much easier! But apparently the entire universe was literally conspiring to make her fail her exams.

"I don't know! It was like the second half of June and the first half of July, right?" She said, obviously exhausted and frustrated after studying a boring subject like Astrology for so long.

"And Taurus?" The professor asked, not giving her a moment to rest.

"April-May-ish?" She whined.

"I'll let it slide for now." Ursula finally said, noticing how restless her student was becoming. "Tell me Akko, do you know anyone who was born in April or May?"

"I don't know." Akko scrunched her eyebrows in a thoughtful manner. "I've never been good with dates. I think Amanda was born in March though. 17th, I think?"

"So she's Piscies." Ursula supplied.

"Yeah, just like you!" Akko exclaimed with a big smile.

"Me?" Chariot startled a little, like she wasn't expecting her student to know that information.

"You were born on February 20th, right?" Akko affirmed.

"How did you…?" Ursula was sure she'd never told Akko when her birthday was.

"I'm a Shiny Chariot expert. Duh." Akko said matter-of-factly. "But if you're Piscies, should I call you Piscies-sensei?" She joked.

"I prefer Ursula, thank you very much." She laughed. "So, anyways, what about Diana? Wasn't she born in April?" The professor re-directed their conversation where she wanted it to go.

"Diana?" Akko answered, adopting a thoughtful expression. "Yes, I believe she told me something like that the other day."

"So she's _Taurus_ then." The professor purposefully stressed the word so Akko would (hopefully) take the hint this time.

"Oh, that's right!" Akko exclaimed like she'd made a sudden realization, which made the redhead hope she'd actually came to the same conclusion as her. "I wonder if she knows any Cancer people." Akko said, but the tone she adopted was rather grumpy, even if she hadn't intended to make it sound like that. "Probably not though; I've never seen Diana take an interest on anyone." Akko then added more calmly, as if she was reassuring herself.

"What about you?" Chariot asked, reminding herself that she couldn't just spell it out for Akko, even if the attraction between the two girls was apparent to everyone else.

"Me? Well… I kinda liked Andrew when we met, but then with the whole Love Bee incident I realized we worked better as just friends." Akko answered, oblivious as ever.

"Yes, I don't see you two working out as a couple. No offense." Ursula commented. "I think it'd be better for you to find someone more… delicate. Someone who also loves magic as much as you do and with whom you share interests and experiences." 'Someone who helped you save the world' was left unsaid.

"Yeah… Plus, I don't think Andrew is Taurus." Akko furrowed her brows as an idea got into her head. "Wait… should I then ask every boy I meet if he's Taurus so that I can find my true love easier?"

"I really don't think that's a good idea." Ursula immediately said, recognizing Akko was deadly serious about it and not wanting her to make silly life changing decisions because of what she'd learned in her class. "While stars certainly do influence our future, they can't _shape_ it. Our decisions are still the driving force in our lives." She explained.

"Then why even bother with Astrology at all?!" Akko whined, frustrated. "I'm so tired of all these concepts and names and complicated relationships between the stars, and… can't we take a break?"

"Akko…" She started, only to be promptly interrupted.

"Please, I'm starting to lose my mind here! Maybe if you told me one of your stories, it would lift up my spirits?" She smiled, showing off one of her innocent pleading expressions that only a soulless being could ever hope to resist. Yet, Ursula still made a brave attempt.

"Don't you have another exam tomorrow?"

"Only potions! But Sucy said she'd help me out with that after dinner." Akko wisely decided to leave out the fact Sucy's idea of helping Akko was making her brew potions by memory, only to then test them on her… usually with less than favorable results.

"Probably a good idea, since I was never good at potions myself. Even to this day, Lukić rarely lets me get in a ten foot radius of her lab." The professor laughed, and her student readily joined in. It was nice knowing she had that in common with her mentor. "Oh! I know which story to tell you today!" The older witch exclaimed, suddenly appearing a lot more relaxed and less strict.

"So… are we taking a break?" Akko asked hopefully.

"I'm way too lenient with you." Ursula mumbled more to herself than to her student. "But anyways, let's go sit at the couch so we can begin the story."

* * *

"Chariot!" Both of my teammates yell at the same time when the potion we were working on explodes. I flinch and give them the most innocent smile I can muster, even if we all know what happened was most probably my fault. But hey, I was getting tired of not being allowed to do more than just watch them as they worked, and figured I would help a bit if I just added one of the ingredients. We were making a levitation potion, which isn't so complicated, and I studied how it was made with Croix the other day, so… I don't know what went wrong.

"Ah… sorry?" I squeak under the angry gaze of Karen and Amelia, as well as Professor Lukić's. "I-I just… uhm… I added some mandrake leaves, like the book says. I don't know why it exploded!"

"Are you blind, girl?" The old professor asks, obviously very upset that I just blew up yet another one of her precious cauldrons. "The book says you have to boil them before you add them!"

"It… does?" I look down at the opened book at my desk to corroborate her words, and sure enough, under the list of ingredients (the only thing I read), there's a paragraph detailing how to prepare some of the ingredients before adding them to the potion, and yes, mandrakes leaves have to be boiled. "Oh."

"You three will have to stay here and clean this mess after class. The rest of you are dismissed." At this, all the other students start walking out, all looking at me with either pity, contempt or amusement.

"I guess we can always count on Chariot to blow up the classroom and get us out early!" A girl from the yellow team says as she passes, laughing loudly with her twin, who is from the pink team. Those two are even better than me at getting into trouble to be honest, but at least they never get caught, so they can laugh all they want when I get punished, but I can't do the same to them, so I just blow them a raspberry as they walk by.

"I want everything to be nice and clean when I return." Lukić says once very student has exited the classroom. "Or else I'll rip off your tongues! Hehehe." And with that odious laughter she has, she closes the door and leaves us alone.

"Seriously, Chariot what were you thinking? We told you not to touch anything!" Karen says immediately, not giving me even a moment to breathe.

"But I was so bored! You guys won't let me do anything!" I immediately protest.

"Because you always end up blowing something up!" Amelia retorts, scowling at me. "And now we have to clean _your_ mess. As always."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" I answer defensively. "I just thought…"

"You clearly didn't." Amelia cuts me off, visibly angry. Which makes me feel even worse because she's usually nice to me. Nicer than Karen anyways.

"And you, Amelia?" Karen then directs her glare at her, which gives me a moment to relax slightly. "Where were you? I told you to keep an eye on her!"

"Oh, so now it's _my_ fault?" Amelia answers, glaring right back at Karen.

Great. They're going to start fighting again.

"G-girls, please, let's calm down…" I try to interfere, but I just manage to direct their anger right back at me, and I can barely stop myself from taking a step back in fear for my life.

"You want us to _calm down?_ " Karen asks in disbelief, her green eyes piercing me all the way into my soul and making me shudder because of how cold they are. "How can we? Thanks to you we got punished again!"

"And I certainly don't look forward to cleaning all of this." Amelia adds, turning to look at our table.

I also let my gaze wander for a moment, looking at the mess I caused. The contents of our cauldron are now scattered all over the laboratory, staining the tables with a purple substance that appears to be sticky, so it'll probably be difficult to remove. There are also some flasks that got knocked over because of the explosion and their contents are now spilled all over the floor. And to top it all, there's a very nasty aroma impregnating the whole place.

Yeah… I wouldn't want to clean this either.

This will surely cause another crack to appear in the already fragile relationship between me and my roommates. I wonder how long it will be before they make me sleep in the hallway. And with good reason, at that.

But before I can suggest they let me clean it all by myself, the door opens. We all tense instantly, thinking it's Lukić coming back to check on our progress, but instead in walks…

"Croix?" I exclaim, unable to hide the smile that instantly appears on my face, like I'm seeing the first ray of sunlight after a particularly fierce storm.

"Chariot?" She also says, clearly surprised, but then she takes in the rest of the laboratory and chuckles. "What the hell did you do this time?" She shakes her head in amusement.

I can only blush in embarrassment at her seeing one of my infamous disasters. More so because she's tutoring me, and she's a prodigy, and after taking so many lessons with her this surely shouldn't be happening. Great, now she'll think I'm even more of a dunce.

"Croix Meridies?" Amelia speaks, looking at my friend with a mix of surprise and confusion.

"The one and only." Croix smirks, modest as ever. I can only roll my eyes at that. "I'm sorry to intrude, I just came here searching for my favorite slave over there."

"How can you even stand her?" Karen scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest. "With how bad she is at literally _everything_ I thought you'd turn her into a frog at the first chance, given your reputation."

"Maybe I should turn _you_ into a frog." Croix answers, her eyes narrowing into slits and her whole demeanor changing from casual to murderous in less than a second. Karen gulps at this, and then looks to the side, avoiding looking directly at her.

"I'm just saying… with you being a prodigy and all, I bet you could find someone better to help you out while you're injured." Karen shrugs, trying to appear nonchalant, even if she's obviously scared of Croix. "That's what everyone else thinks, anyways." She adds quickly, probably not wanting to upset her even more. But now that I think about it, why is Croix even getting upset? It's not like Karen is wrong… even if it hurts.

"I don't suppose you can understand why I chose Chariot instead a snobby brat like you, so I won't even try to explain it." She makes a dramatic pause, getting out her wand and twirling it around for show. "But I won't tolerate you insulting her anymore, are we clear?"

What? Why is Croix defending me? I thought…

"Why do you even care?" Karen voices out my exact thoughts, though she does so in a defensive manner.

"Why do you care why I care?" Croix shoots back, instantly shutting her up. "Now, I recognize that Chariot can be quite… _disastrous,_ to put it mildly."

"Hey!" I protest. I thought she was defending me!

"Which is why…" She continues, looking at me with an expression that clearly says 'Don't interrupt me again, or else'. "I believe it's only fair if she cleans this mess alone, wouldn't you agree?"

"What?!" I shriek. Just when I thought Croix was being nice for once!

"But professor Lukić said the three of us should do it." Amelia interferes for the first time since my friend walked through the door.

"And she'll cut out our tongues if we don't finish in time." Karen adds. "And I honestly don't trust Chariot to do it all on her own."

For once, I agree with Karen. But I wouldn't say that out loud.

"And if I help her?" Croix says, to the astonishment and confusion of me and the rest of the orange team.

"W-what?" This is getting more and more confusing by the second!

"You would do that?" Amelia asks, eyes wide as saucers, since she clearly can't believe what she's hearing. "Why?"

"I have my reasons." Croix shrugs, smiling in a way that I know she probably has some experiment in mind, and all I can do is gulp and see as my fate is sealed. "But rest assured, I swear on my honor as the top student in Luna Nova that this place will be spotless by the time your professor comes back."

"That sounds… tempting." Amelia says, turning to look at Karen questioningly, silently asking for her opinion.

"Certainly." Karen agrees, smirking maliciously in my direction. "It's hard to argue with Croix's reputation, and I _do_ have homework for tomorrow, so I would benefit from some extra time."

"Girls." I practically whine, begging them not to leave me alone here.

"Then it's settled." My friend smiles, crossing her arms over her chest. "Come on, get out before I change my mind."

Before I can even protest any further, and with my begging falling in deaf ears, my roommates take their belongings and exit the classroom, all the while thanking Croix profusely and blatantly ignoring me. And in just a few seconds they're out. Great.

I turn to glare at the lilac-haired prodigy.

"Why did you do that, Croix? You're so mean!"

"You'll thank me when your teammates don't murder you in your sleep." She shrugs, smiling excitedly. "But that aside, I really needed to be left alone in here."

"What are you planning?" I ask with a mix of curiosity and caution. After all, I don't want to get in any more trouble, but I'm curious to see what kind of experiments Croix does on her lab.

"I need to get some ingredients from Lukić's personal stock, but I can't just ask for them because they can be… dangerous." She explains, the smile not leaving her face.

"You're gonna make me use them, aren't you?" I say once I come to the obvious conclusion.

"You're the one who won't let me do any magic." She retorts, and I'm left without any good answer for that.

"Okay, but first you have to help me clean this." I relent at the end, knowing I have really no other option.

"Like this?" She raises an eyebrow as she points to her injured arm.

"Uh…" Damn, I hadn't thought about that! Is she really going to let me clean all of this on my own?

"We need to use magic if we want to finish on time." Croix says. "But the spell is quite advanced, especially for a first-year like you…" She trails off, looking pointedly at me and silently asking me something. And while her offer is very tempting, I'd rather spend the rest of my life scrubbing this classroom than letting her hurt herself trying to clean my mess.

"Forget it. You're not doing magic." I deadpan, crossing my arms over my chest for emphasis.

"Fine then, catch this." Croix takes something out of her pocket and throws it at me without warning, but thankfully I'm able to catch it, though I do fumble with it for a couple of seconds before I can properly secure it in my grasp. Then I notice it's a small flask of glass containing a transparent blood-red liquid. "Drink it and you should be able to cast the spell."

Oh! So it's a potion then.

"Were you just carrying it around for no reason?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. It's a little too convenient, to be honest.

"I bought it from a third-year. Just in case you did something stupid and wouldn't let me fix it." She smirks.

"I hate you." I say pouting. But I have to admit it did come in handy… which just makes me hate her more.

"You're welcome." She answers, undeterred and continuing to smirk as odiously as she always does. She appears to be in a good mood today, and honestly? I almost miss grumpy Croix. "The spell is _Yera Retoure_."

"Year Tour?" I mispronounce it just to spite her.

" _Yera Retoure._ " She corrects, rolling her eyes. "Now come on, we don't have all day."

"Okay, okay." I agree, since I do want to finish it as quickly as possible even if I'm not looking forward to working with dangerous substances in Croix's lab. But I'm more afraid of Lukić, to be honest.

So I uncork the flask and swiftly drink it all in one just one gulp. It tastes gross and bitter, like medicine, and the taste remains in my mouth even after I've swallowed, but as soon as I put down the flask and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, I start feeling something like a tingling. It's like the magic inside my body is getting restless and trying to break out of the tips of my fingers… it's the same feeling than when I try to cast a spell, except it's like someone else is doing it for me. I don't really like this sensation, but if it gets the work done without any more disasters then I ain't going to complain.

Anyways, I decide to ignore the unpleasant sensation and just cast the stupid spell.

" _Yera Retoure!_ " I yell, pointing towards the broken cauldron and scattered stuff. And as if by magic (ha!), everything starts going back to its original state and position; the flasks' pieces regroup and attach, like they were never broken in the first place, the ingredients go back inside the now-repaired jars, the burning marks disappear and the gooey substance returns to the cauldron. "Whoa!" I can't help gasping in awe. Everything looks so pristine! Professor Lukić will be so impressed when she comes back.

"Yeah, yeah, very impressive." Croix rolls her eyes one more time, clearly annoyed I'm just staring at the cleaned laboratory like it's the most marvelous thing I've seen all day (and it is!). "But don't get cocky, okay? That was just the potion at work. If you tried to do it on your own you'd probably cause an even bigger explosion."

"I know." I answer, pouting at her. I didn't need that reminder! Come on, Croix, just let me believe I can actually do decent magic for now!

"Good, now… I think it's time to collect some ingredients."

That smile definitely means trouble. What did I get into now? I'm starting to think the free lessons aren't worth this.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! Please let me know what you think of this in a review, even if I don't usually answer them, I read them all and I really really appreciate them. So thanks for reading and thanks to all of you who have left reviews/favs/follows :D**

 **See you in two weeks :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	9. Healing potion that actually kinda hurts

**Chapter 9: A healing potion that actually kind of hurts.**

We arrived to Croix's lab safely after stealing a bunch of stuff from Lukic's stash. But she had to use an invisibility spell to hide us, as I tried to cast it myself but I kept getting it wrong and we didn't have much time. Thankfully it didn't hurt her as much as before, which probably means my constant reminders that she can't use magic are actually helping her heal faster! Either that or she's been practicing magic anyways and is now so used to the pain that she doesn't even feel it anymore.

But anyways, maybe I should worry less about Croix's health and more about my own, since what we are about to do is rather dangerous. It's kinda ironic, really. With all this stuff it might look like we're trying to kill someone, but according to a very old book that Croix stole from who-knows-where, these very dangerous ingredients, when mixed the right way, can make for a rather powerful healing potion.

That's right, a healing potion that's (hopefully) able to cure Croix's arm. But really, it will be a leap of faith for her. If done wrong, this thing could kill her, or injure her even more… and since she can't do magic, I will be in charge of making the potion.

Yeah. I'm sweating cold right now. But Croix appears to be rather calm. _Oddly_ calm, I'd say.

"Okay." She says, settling the ingredients on her table. Thankfully the invisibility spell is starting to wear off and now we can see each other, even if we're still a little transparent. "First things first: put the ingredients here and go heat up the cauldron. I assume you won't need help with that."

"N-no, I can do it." I answer, placing the flasks I was carrying next to the ones Croix just put on the table. "But Croix… are you sure this is a good idea? I'm terrible at brewing potions!"

"Well then it's about time you learn." She shrugs nonchalantly. "Plus, even though you'll be doing it, _I_ will supervise. I will be guiding you every step of the way, so I doubt there's a chance of you getting it so wrong it'll kill me."

"I still think it's a bad idea." I argue.

"We'll worry about that later." She dismisses it with a wave of her hand. "For now, let's just make the potion, okay?"

"Fine." I sigh, knowing that trying to convince Croix to give up on her plan after she went all this way to execute it is an exercise in futility. But maybe I could convince her to use _me_ as her test subject… which actually doesn't sound any better. But at least if something happened to me she'd be able to act faster, right? I trust she'd knew what to do in case I was poisoned by my own stupidity. Hopefully.

For now, all I can do is obey her orders and heat up that stupid cauldron that she keeps on a small table under the balcony stairs, by turning on this little metal thing (electric stove, I think?) connected to a car battery.

"Is it ready?" Croix asks as she comes to stand beside me, holding the open book in her left hand.

"Yeah, I think so." I nod.

"Good. Now we first need to pour in a cup of fire toad mucus."

"Got it!" I say as I rush to fetch the ingredient, but Croix' panicked yell stops me dead in my tracks.

"Wait! You shouldn't be handling this without proper protective equipment!" I smile sheepishly under her strict gaze. "My coat and gloves are on a box under the desk. I'm afraid we'll have to do without glasses though."

"Right. Right." I answer, quickly going to put on the coat and gloves before fetching the ingredient and Croix's tea cup to measure it. However, as soon as I return to her side and she notices what I brought with me, she sighs, puts the book away and takes her cup off my hands.

"Seriously, for all your good intentions I'm starting to think you're actively trying to get us killed." She says semi-seriously. "The _measuring_ cup, which is to be used _only_ for this purpose, is on the bookshelf."

"Oh." Well, that makes sense. I probably shouldn't use something which is primarily used to drink tea to measure the quantities of dangerous substances. Why didn't I think of that sooner? I'd even seen the measuring cup before! I just never asked what it was for.

So, after fetching the glass cup with painted lines measuring ounces and milliliters, I uncork the bottle containing a viscous orange liquid and pour it on it, making sure to take exactly the amount we need. Then, I add it to the boiling water in the cauldron, but soon notice some of it keeps sticking on the cup. I try shaking it a bit, but it's no use, and I'm about to try and bring it down using my glove-covered fingers, when Croix's voice interrupts me.

"Try taking some of the boiling water with the cup and then pouring it back at the cauldron a couple of times. That should do the trick." I nod and quickly follow her instructions, effectively managing to make every last drop of fire toad mucus get into the potion-in-making. "Good. Now stir it for exactly two minutes counterclockwise." She instructs, handing me a metal scoop.

"Got it." I say, taking the scoop and pausing for a moment to remember in which direction the hands of the clock rotate before energetically starting to stir on the opposite direction.

"Wait! Slow down or you'll spill the contents, jeez!" Croix chastises me. "No wonder your teammates don't let you do anything in potions class."

"But it's still a wonder you do let me do everything for you." I retort, remembering when my teammates questioned her about it earlier, and still having found no satisfying answer myself. "Maybe you aren't as smart as everyone makes you out to be. Just saying." I then decide to tease.

"Well, _just saying_ , I have enough confidence in myself to know that, if I'm here, it's less likely you'll ruin it all." She answers, rolling her eyes, but it does look like she's holding back from laughing.

"You'd be surprised." I joke.

"Just stir the damn thing, Chariot."

"Okay, okay." I chuckle, returning my attention to the potion, which seems to be slowly becoming a lighter tone of yellowish orange. "So… what's next?"

"Next…" Croix pauses, checking the book. "Next we have to add three spoonfuls of pulverized lapis lazuli, and let it cool down until it's 36 degrees celcius."

Apparently deciding it's better for me to keep on stirring the potion, and seeing the next ingredient isn't dangerous (for once), she decides to retrieve it herself and comes back with a bag of blue powder, as well as a large crystal thermometer and a measuring spoon. Then she adds said ingredient, instructing me to keep stirring until the mix is homogenous. Once it's mixed to her satisfaction and the potion has turned a very weird pinkish color, she puts the thermometer on the cauldron, so we'll be able to see when it's on the right temperature.

"Alright, so now that that's done, we need to… Great." Croix frowns as she reads the next part on the recipe.

"What?" I prompt when she doesn't say anything more.

"We need to mix the next three ingredients separately before adding them to the potion." She sighs. "It can be a bit difficult because it has to be done at room temperature, which means they won't be so easily dissolved."

"Don't worry, I've got it. Just tell me what to add… and _where_ , since I suppose we can't use your cauldron." I say, looking at the currently occupied thing.

"Right." Croix nods, adopting a thinking expression. "Well, I suppose that we could use the metal can where I keep my pens." She points at her desk, where the thing in question is located.

"Got it!" I say as I go retrieve it, leaving Croix's pens and pencils lying on the same spot. It's actually a pretty ordinary metal can, which probably had soup or something like that in the past… I hope it won't break when we pour the very dangerous ingredients into it.

"Okay, leave it there next to the cauldron. Good. Now, first add a cup of Night Viper venom." I start to reach for the amber bottle filled with a dark liquid, when her voice makes me stop for a moment. "Be careful though; that thing is _super_ deadly."

"Don't worry. I'm the most careful person in the world." I assure her, but her ironic chuckling makes me see exactly what she thinks of that statement. Still, I somehow manage to measure and pour the dangerous substance into the can. I can't help thinking it's actually very pretty though; it's transparent and of a light blue color. I wonder if it tastes like blueberry…? But I won't drink it! I'm not _that_ stupid.

"Okay, now add a pinch of Lunar Moth dust." Croix continues with the instructions. "Don't worry, that one's harmless, so you can just grab it with your fingers."

I follow her orders, enjoying the silver color that remains in my gloves even after I've let go of the dust. It looks like I'm glowing! But anyways. I should probably just mix it before Croix chastises me for staring at my fingers for so long.

"Okay, for the next ingredient… half a cup of ashes from a branch of the legendary tree Wagandia, burned by fire dragon a hundred years ago."

"That's oddly specific." I comment. Aren't ashes from all trees the same?

"It's also the rarest ingredient, so don't waste it." She instructs with a severe expression.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." I reassure her as I take the measuring cup and carefully start pouring in the ashes until I have all we need. Then, I empty the contents into the can only to start mixing the ingredients with the scoop. One of the reasons brewing potions is so boring: a great part of the time you're just stirring stuff and waiting around.

"Be sure to keep stirring until it's a light grey color and of uniform consistency." Croix says. "It's very important since it neutralizes the venom."

"Yes, Croix, don't worry. I got it." I almost roll my eyes at her. I mean, it's not like mixing three ingredients was that big of a deal! You just have to keep moving. And moving. And moving, and… why am I not making any progress? The venom is still resting at the bottom with the ashes floating on top, and no matter how I try to mix them up, they keep being stubbornly separated. Like water and oil.

"Croix!" I whine.

"I told you it wasn't as easy as it seemed." She sighs in exasperation. "Just keep going and they'll eventually dissolve. I'm going to check on the potion."

And with that she leaves me struggling with this stupid thing to go check the thermometer we left on the cauldron. I just sigh, but decide to stir it a bit faster, to see if that makes it easier to dissolve. And soon I see some parts of it starting to look of a more homogenous grey color! So I get excited and try moving it a bit faster. And faster. And faster! And…

Suddenly the can tips over because of all the force I'm applying to it (even though I was trying to stabilize it with my other hand), and the contents spill all over me, some even reaching my face and making my clothes wet. Instantly, I remember what Croix said about the venom being super deadly and I let out a terrified squeak.

"C-Croix!" I call for her, who is only a few feet away, already looking at me with an amused expression.

"I should have imagined." She chuckles. "I can't leave you on your own yet."

"Am I gonna die?!" I ask, dread settling into my stomach as I start feeling a burning sensation at the parts of my body that have come into contact with the potion. "I don't wanna die! I still have so many things to do! I'm not even a real witch yet! I-I…!"

"Okay, calm down." Croix is visibly trying to contain her laughter… and failing. She looks like she just saw the funniest thing in the world. "You're not going to die."

"B-but you said…"

"I know what I said." She rolls her eyes. "And you're not going to die, so calm down and follow me."

Deciding to trust Croix for now, hoping she'll give me an antidote or something, I follow her upstairs to the balcony until we come to a stop next to the window, from which the afternoon sunlight is entering creating a circle of light on the floor, in which Croix gestures me to stand.

"Okay, now listen carefully. I'm going to sound like a pervert, but you have to trust that I'm just trying to help you." Croix takes a deep breath before speaking again, while I just stare at her with curiosity. "You have to take off your clothes."

"Huh?" I look down at the wet lab coat under which my school uniform was also soaked by the potion, so… taking them off does seem like a good idea. Plus, Croix probably knows what she's doing, right? "Alright." I agree and promptly start undressing.

"You can keep your underwear." Croix says after I'm done unbuttoning my shirt. I just nod and proceed to take off the rest of my clothes until I'm left standing in only my underwear and shoes. I'd be lying if I said I'm not feeling rather… _exposed_ , more so with Croix staring at me as intently as that, but I have to fight the urge to cover myself with my hands because I know she's probably doing that to assess the damage.

"Well, it looks like it's already started to take effect." She says, no doubt referring to the angry red patches of skin that have formed where I came into contact with the venom.

"What do we do then?!" I ask, sounding like I'm starting to panic. Probably because I am.

"Night Viper venom is destroyed by sunlight." Croix explains. "You just need to keep standing here until the symptoms have disappeared." She smiles reassuringly. "It should take a few minutes."

"Didn't you say it's super deadly?! What if I die before that?"

"It kills you instantly if it enters your bloodstream. And it'll take less than a minute if you drink it." Croix says patiently. "But if it comes into contact with your skin, it'll only give you slight irritation, like nettle." She laughs again. "Still, I never thought you'd be so careless as to just… spill it all over yourself!" She's interrupted by her laughter. "Were you actually _trying_ to kill yourself?"

"Croix!" I pout. "Stop making fun of me!"

"Sorry, sorry. It's just so _you_ to go and spill a can full of dangerous ingredients all over yourself as soon as I turn around." She chuckles, not looking apologetic at all, but since her gaze is soft as she looks at me instead of mocking or belittling, I find myself laughing a bit too. Maybe it is indeed amusing that I'm such a clutz I'm actually a hazard to myself.

If only my teammates reacted like Croix whenever I do something stupid! I mean, it's not like I do it on purpose! And in this specific instance I spilled dangerous and rare ingredients all over myself, yet Croix doesn't look the least bit angry. Granted, she admitted herself she took ten times more of each ingredient than what she'll actually need, but still. I'm sure she did that only because she knew I would probably screw up half a dozen times before getting it right. And she didn't rub that fact all over my face, so that's nice too. And she even defended me from Karen earlier! Speaking of which…

"Thank you." I smile warmly at her, but she looks at me with a confused expression.

"Are you thanking me for making fun of you?" She asks semi-seriously.

"No! I'm thanking you for defending me from my teammates earlier. It was a nice gesture." I say with a sincere smile.

"Yeah, well…" She looks towards the window to avoid eye contact as a prominent blush appears on her face. I'd never seen her blush so much. She looks so cute! "It was nothing. I mean, we're f…" She cuts herself off hastily before clearing her throat and trying again. "We're… I mean, I'myour tutor. What kind of tutor would I be if I just let them bully you? That's literally my job! Only I can do that." She chuckles nervously.

I don't believe she's used to expressing her feelings at all, or even calling other people 'friends', so she hides her emotions behind a mask of sarcasm and jokes. But I'm not really disappointed. She'll get there, I'm sure. She just needs time.

"Still. Thank you." I say, before hesitantly reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder. She tenses up a bit, but doesn't pull away this time. "I'm glad to have such a good friend as you."

"A-ah… yeah." She stutters, continuing to avoid eye contact. She looks so unlike the usually confident Croix! So this is her Achilles heel? Showing affection? "I have to be the best at everything, right?" She jokes, still blushing. "But anyways." Croix then clears her throat nervously as she takes a step back, making me let go of her shoulder. "Uh… I have to go clean everything up. I'll be right back." And with that, she pretty much bolts down the stairs, visibly flustered, which is such an amusing sight I can only chuckle and shake my head.

"Don't use magic!" I call.

"I make no promises!" She answers.

* * *

"Oh my gosh!" Akko laughed so loud Alcor decided to move to the other side of the room. "I didn't know you were almost as bad at potions as me! At least I've never had to deal with such dangerous ingredients myself."

"That's a relief for everyone in the school." Ursula muttered, mostly to herself. "But, you know? Croix told me that, for my first time, she substituted some of the most deadly or rare ingredients for more common ones that would create a simple anesthetic potion if done correctly."

"Oh, I see." Akko nods, smiling widely. "She was more thoughtful than Sucy in that regard." She then pauses, apparently realizing something. "But wait, then what was it that caused the irritation on your skin?"

"Still Night Viper venom, but extracted from a newly hatched viper." The professor explained. "It's not lethal, but if it enters your bloodstream it can put you on a coma for up to several weeks."

"Ha. Probably Sucy has used it on me before ." Akko commented rather casually. "I remember one day when I couldn't wake up until she gave me some sort of antidote that tasted like lichen." She grimaced as she remembered the flavor. "It was pretty gross."

"Speaking of Sucy, didn't you say you were going to meet her at dinner?" Ursula said, glancing at the clock, apparently undeterred by what her student told her; it wasn't like Croix hadn't used _her_ as a guinea pig more than once. And if Sucy knew what she was doing and Akko consented, she trusted the girls to handle themselves.

"Oh, you're right!" Akko startled, looking anxiously at the clock. "I hope there's still some food left." She then quickly got up from the chair, thanked her teacher profusely and wished her goodnight before bolting down the stairs of the Astronomy Tower hoping she'd still manage to get at least one miserable little potato.

Meanwhile, the professor smiled as she watched her student go, amused by her antics. She just hoped she'd be able to pass tomorrow's exams with good grades as she'd promised. Granted, she _was_ the Astrology teacher, which meant she could theoretically give Akko a good grade even if she didn't earn it, but that just wouldn't be fair for the other students, so she'd never do it, no matter how much she loved Akko.

But anyways, now that she had some free time, she probably should go exercise; she liked staying in shape, and it was very important if she wanted to keep using strengthening magic.

So she went to change into her red tracksuit (Finnelan would kill her if she saw her like that), took off her glasses and put them on her drawer. Then she grabbed a bottle of water and exited the tower, ready to work out a bit.

She usually ran for about half an hour in the forest surrounding the school. After that she used puppet magic on a statue and fought with it. And finally she practiced lifting rocks and jumping the height of the trees with help of strengthening magic.

It was more or less the same everyday with only small variations. Honestly, it was one of the only things that had kept her sane during all those years of having to do what all the other teachers said while living under another name. It made her feel more like herself for a few hours.

And it also reminded her of Croix.

And as everything associated with Croix, it was bittersweet. She wondered if there would ever be something, _anything_ that just made her happy without bringing her pain, or melancholy, or guilt at the same time.

Was there ever even something like that? Even magic stressed her when she couldn't cast it. Maybe that's just how life was.

But now was not the time to be so self-reflecting. She needed to have dinner and go to sleep early so she could get up in time and arrive punctual to class.

So she heated up the food she'd grabbed from the cafeteria (mashed potatoes with baked potatoes) with magic and opened her drawer to get out a spoon and start eating.

And of course, her eyes landed on the stupid intelligent-phone Croix had given her. She swore that thing even had a taunting smile and was silently calling her a coward. And, as almost every night, she decided that she would be brave that day and got the thing out of her drawer, turning it on.

She started eating as the device initialized, momentarily forgetting about it. But once it was ready, Chariot's stomach turned with anxiety, and she sweated cold.

She started panicking as she grabbed it and it kept staring back at her with its ugly screen. No. This wasn't a good idea. Calling Croix? Come on, she probably had better things to do!

 _In prison?_ She heard Alcor's voice inside her head, and turned to glare at the white crow, who was looking at her with the bird equivalent of a deadpan expression. _Just call her! I'm tired of seeing you stressing over it every single day._

"It's not that simple." Chariot answered, looking back down at the phone in her hands.

"It seems simple to me." Alcor responded, this time out loud.

"That's because Croix isn't _your_ ex."

"Should I remind you I can still read your thoughts to some extent?" The crow said, sounding annoyed. "You _want_ to call her. You are just scared of getting hurt again."

"So what if I am?" Chariot answered defensively. "You saw how devastated I was after she betrayed me. I don't want to go through that ever again!"

"And you don't have to." The old crow adopted his wise tone of voice Chariot hated so much because it usually meant he was going to say something she couldn't refute. "Even if Croix is up to no good, you're an adult now; you're smarter and more mature, and I trust that you can recognize in time if Croix is trying to hurt you once more."

"Well… I don't trust myself." Was all Chariot could answer to that.

"Then trust in me, and in my trust in you." The crow answered with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Very well, old crow." Chariot chuckled. "But if Croix hurts me, I'm personally making you responsible."

And with that, she turned around and looked at the intelligent-phone once more, and at the instructions left on a note in her drawer, written in Croix's rather messy handwriting.

The instructions were unsurprisingly easy to follow, as expected from Croix, and after dialing the number, she waited with battled breath as the phone rang one time, two times, three times… maybe Croix had already gone to bed? This was a stupid idea. She probably should just try again some other day.

But before she could panic even more and hang up, someone answered her, and she dropped the phone in surprise, barely being able to catch it in time.

"H-hello?" She said once she had secured it on her grasp, feeling her heart hammering inside her chest like it wanted to burst out.

"Chariot?" Croix's voice sounded from the other end, stealing Chariot's breath away and immediately nullifying all her cognitive processes. Her mind was now a mash of anxiety and longing. "Chariot, is that you?" Croix kept inquiring when the line went silent for too long.

"C-Croix…" She managed to choke out before she panicked once more and quickly pressed the end-call button, breathing out a sigh of relief… only to then realize she was acting like a total coward and smashing her head against her desk.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She yelled at herself. "What will Croix think of me now?! I'm acting like a schoolgirl with a crush!"

But then, the phone started ringing, startling her so much she literally fell off the chair. It rang a few more times before she truly processed what was happening and, with a trembling hand, reached up and grabbed the cellphone from the top of her desk, not bothering getting up from the ground yet.

Steeling her nerves and telling herself that she really shouldn't be as anxious as she was and that she'd faced things thousands of times more nerve-wrecking in the past, she took a deep breath and answered the call, pressing the damn thing against her ear.

"H-hi?" Damn. Why did she have to stutter so much?

"Hello. Again." Croix chuckled. "What, did you drop the phone and accidentally end the call?" She teased.

"Y-yeah. S-something like that." Chariot lied. There was no way in hell she'd ever admit she got so nervous as soon as she heard Croix's voice that she had been one second away from throwing the phone out of the window.

"I figured that was the case." Her voice sounded rather amused. "I'm actually surprised you even managed to call me after only three weeks of trying. I thought it would take you months." Croix was teasing her again, like usual.

"This was actually my first try." She protested, Croix's laughter dying as she realized what this meant.

An awkward silence followed, and it extended for a few tense seconds. Maybe minutes. Chariot even thought to check if the call was still ongoing, but before she could either do that or say something, she heard Croix clearing her throat from the other side of the line.

"I see." Her voice sounded a bit odd. Like she was refraining herself from saying something or showing any emotions. "What made you call me then? Did you need something, or…?" She left the question hanging, clearly unsure of how to finish.

"No, no." Chariot simply said, also unsure of what to do to make Croix start talking in a more upbeat tone again.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I mean, it's just… _odd_. You know? That you didn't call me in three weeks and then you suddenly…" She sighed, also leaving that phrase hanging.

"I-I…" Chariot paused, not knowing what to answer to that. Nothing sounded good in her head! So she decided to just let her mouth do the talking without filters and hoped that would go well. "I wasn't ready."

"Are you now?" Croix immediately questioned with genuine curiosity and a small hint of hope.

"No." She unwillingly admitted; her upset stomach wholeheartedly agreeing with her.

"I can't blame you." Croix said bitterly. "I actually would have understood if you never called me, but…. What changed?"

"Akko."

" _Akko?"_ Croix asked, unsure she'd heard it right. What did the light-headed Japanese girl have to do with any of this?

"I've been telling her stories. Of our schooldays adventures." Chariot explained, a small grin appearing on her face for the first time since they started talking.

"I hope you kept them PG-rated." Croix tried a small joke when she heard a hint of happiness in Chariot's voice.

"PG what?"

Croix could only sigh in resignation. Of course Chariot didn't know about movie ratings.

"Appropriate for children." She translated.

"Oh." The redhead blushed profusely. "N-not _those_ adventures! The ones about you getting hurt by your experiments or me dropping Night Viper venom all over myself!"

Her embarrassment finally made Croix laugh loudly, not even making an effort to dissimulate.

"I know, I know. I was just teasing." She assured her. "And honestly? The story about the Night Viper venom is still one of my favorites to this day. I'm pretty sure half of the residents here _and_ most of the guards have heard it at least twice now."

"So you've been talking about me?" Chariot decided to tease her back for a change.

"N-no! Of course not!" She immediately protested, and Chariot could perfectly picture her blushing because of her embarrassed tone of voice. "I don't even think about you more than 1440 minutes per day."

"Sure." Chariot rolled her eyes.

"Really! I have better things to do. Like finding the cure of Wagandia for my favorite redhead." She smirked. "Or helping the engineers reinforce the walls with magic-insulating panels. That's the only reason they let me keep a personal phone, actually."

"I figured. You somehow always manage to get what you want; one way or another." Inadvertently, Chariot's lips curled upwards forming a fond smile.

"Speaking of which… I'm kind of in the middle of an experiment." Croix admitted reluctantly, probably making a face, judging by the disappointment that could be heard on her voice. "Can I call you tomorrow?"

"Do they let you make experiments in jail?!" The redhead answered, panicking a little at the thought of Croix once again doing something illegal.

"Highly monitored experiments using mostly harmless substances." She sighed in annoyance. "But yes."

"And what exactly did you do to get such special treatment?" She asked, skeptical. She was pretty sure most prisons for witches didn't allow their residents to do any kind of magic whatsoever.

"I literally constructed it." Croix chuckled. "I even know of a couple of ways to easily escape from here, and I've been helping the guards catch some criminals trying to get out."

"You really did think of everything, didn't you?"

"You mean I knew all along that failure could mean spending many years on jail, and planned accordingly? Helping the government build a prison in which I would eventually be held? Of course I thought of that! I'm a genius!"

"Croix, you evil genius." Chariot laughed. "Alright, I'll let you get back to your crazy experiments. I hope you don't end up blowing up your cell."

"I'm not Chariot." Croix answered. "I don't blow up everything I touch on accident."

"I never said it would be on accident."

"Touché." She chuckled.

They stayed silent for a few moments, just smiling as they waited for the other to say goodbye first. Eventually, it was Croix who broke the silence.

"So… I'll call you tomorrow?"

"I'll call you." Chariot decided. "I don't carry this phone with me everywhere, you know?"

"Well, I do. But granted, I don't go out much." She joked.

"Have a goodnight, Croix." Chariot answered, smiling in amusement at the little joke.

"You too. Sleep well."

Chariot was about to hang up, when she heard just three words spoken softly against the phone. Almost as if Croix didn't want her to hear them. But she did.

"I miss you."

"I-I… I miss you too."

* * *

 **A/N: Yay! Have some adult Charoix! And by that I don't mean NSFW, you pervs XD. Anyways, thanks for reading, I hope you liked it, and as always a review would be appreciated. See you soon :D**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	10. Twin trouble

**Chapter 10: Twin trouble.**

"Atsuko Kagari! Not you again!" Finnelan yelled as she saw Akko laying down, coughing and covered in soot, in the middle of what looked like a war zone, but really was just the laundry. Laying next to Akko were Amanda, Constanze and Sucy, but the professor's rage seemed to be focused on the Japanese student. As always.

"I-I… I just…" Akko stammered as she searched her brain for something to say. Truth to be told, she had been wanting to spend some time alone with Diana _outside_ the stupid laundry, but she knew that her friend, being all responsible and such, wouldn't want to ditch their punishment in order to escape and do something more fun, like flying around the school and practice cool magic tricks. So, of course, she'd asked a couple of favors and promised Sucy to let her test her new potion on her, and tried to wash all the sheets with magic before Diana arrived. Unfortunately, her perfect plan had gone downhill when she accidentally messed with one of Constanze's machines, which reacted badly to the potion Sucy was trying to use to clean the sheets, which combined with Amanda's magic had just caused a big explosion.

Of course, she couldn't say any of that without admitting she had been trying to get out of her punishment, so she opted to try and do something to calm down the cold fury emanating from the teacher's eyes.

"I-I can fix it!" She said, getting out her wand. "Just look, okay?" She just hoped she'd remember the spell her favorite professor had told her the other day. Granted, she'd never tried it before, but… it couldn't be _that_ difficult, right? She'd improved so much already. " _Yera Retoure!_ "

And as it always happened when Akko was involved, no magic spell was casted; her wand remained as lifeless and useless as ever. No matter how many times she chanted the spell or how much she moved her hand, no magic was produced.

"H-hey, Akko, calm down." Amanda tried to interfere, placing a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder when she noticed she was only managing to upset Finnelan even further.

"If you keep shaking your wand like that you'll end up stabbing yourself." Sucy agreed, looking very unconcerned by the possible consequences of her friend's recklessness, but even Amanda knew she was just looking out for Akko in her own way.

"Shut up, I know I can do it!" Akko stubbornly insisted, shaking Amanda's hand off her shoulder. " _Yera Retoure!_ "

"Miss Kagari, stop! I believe I've seen enough!" Finnelan said in an authoritarian manner and a threatening glare that of course was ignored by Akko.

" _Yera Retoure! Yera Retoure! Ye…!"_

" _Yera Retoure._ " Instantly, everything that had been broken or otherwise damaged by the explosion returned its original state, like nothing had ever happened in the first place. And the savior in question was revealed to be (unsurprisingly) none other than Diana Cavendish; the prodigy witch herself.

Akko felt elated for a moment, naturally glad to see her friend… but that was quickly replaced by despair at being outclassed again. It was just like the old times, when Diana humiliated her at every opportunity, even if that wasn't her intention. Still, she couldn't help feeling a bit betrayed, especially when Diana was looking at her with a stern gaze that could rival Finnelan's.

"What's going on here?" The prodigy asked, furrowing her eyebrows as she took in the appearance of her four classmates.

"That's what I would like to know." Finnelan said, alternating her glare between the troublemakers. "Will any of you care to explain to me how you destroyed the laundry room, and what all of you were doing here in the first place?"

"Ah… you see…" Amanda started, when the other three kept quiet. "It's a funny story." She sweated as she tried to come up with something and came out dry. "We were just passing by, and then there was suddenly a big explosion and… yeah. Crazy, right? Hehe." Yeah, making excuses wasn't exactly her strong suit; she usually didn't have to because she rarely got caught.

"I was looking for mushrooms." Sucy tried, but even in her usually expressionless face there could be seen a small hesitation that undoubtedly told she was lying.

"Akko did it." Standbot said, even though Constanze shoot it a worried glance. She _really_ shouldn't have given him that much autonomy.

"I knew it!" The older witch snarled. "Miss Kagari, I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt after you helped Diana restore magic to the world, but this kind of behavior has to stop." What did she mean she helped Diana revive magic? Please, Diana helped _her!_ Wasn't she going to say anything?

"Magic is dangerous, and has to be used with great care and responsibility, something you apparently can't understand." Akko was about to open her mouth to give her a piece of her mind, but the professor noticed and quickly kept talking. "You have no respect for your elders, you don't think before acting and you have the infuriating habit of using magic for selfish ends! I'm afraid you're not fit to be a witch."

"That is not true!" Akko protested. "I'm more of a witch than you. If it wasn't for me magic wouldn't have been restored! Diana, tell her." She turned to look at her friend, looking for support from the only person she knew Finnelan would listen to, but Diana just looked to the side, avoiding her gaze as something akin to sadness overtook her features.

Akko couldn't believe it! The one person she thought would support her no matter what was turning her back on her. Did their friendship really mean so little? Or was she just afraid of losing Finnelan's approval? What a coward!

And before the tears burning inside her eyes had a chance to spill, Akko ran away, uncaring about the voices calling her to come back. She ran to the only place where she knew she'd find comfort and support.

* * *

Ursula was sitting at her desk debating on whether she should call Croix or wait and call her later, hoping she wouldn't interrupt her in the middle of another crazy experiment. But knowing Croix she probably spent all day and night working without end, so waiting for her to take a break was most likely futile. However, if she called her at the same hour as the previous day maybe she would be free, right? So perhaps she _should_ wait. Then again, if Finnelan suddenly called her to assist her with some task or another she wouldn't have time, and she didn't want to break her promise and keep Croix waiting. Uhm. Decisions, decisions…

Just as she was about to dial Croix's number, she heard hurried steps coming up the stairs followed by a loud thud as none other than Akko barged in. She wasn't surprised by her entrance in the slightest, but the hour was unusual, as she was supposed to be doing her punishment. Then, when she took a moment to appreciate her appearance, she noticed her shoulders were shaking as she cried. Instantly, she got up and went to her, worried she was injured or something like that.

"Akko? What happened? Are you o…?" Her sentence was cut off as the teenager pretty much threw herself at her arms and continued crying as she hugged her.

"Akko?" The professor asked again as she hesitantly brought her arms around the girl and tried to soothe her with soft caresses. "What happened?"

"Sensei." The teenager pretty much whined against her shoulder before telling her everything between sobs and whimpers. At one point they moved to the sofa in order to be more comfortable, but the professor listened attentively to everything her student said. At first she thought that Akko's reaction was exaggerated considering the teachers admonished her constantly, but she quickly remembered herself at that age when even the tiniest inconvenience that happens at the worst possible moment felt like a complete catastrophe. So she decided not to interrupt Akko nor dismiss her feelings, and instead try to understand why she had such an intense reaction to what had happened.

"… And then Diana just _stood there!_ " She ranted angrily for like the third time. "She didn't say a word, she didn't defend me! Like she freaking agreed with Finnelan! I mean, what? I thought we were friends!"

So far, Akko seemed to have the strongest feelings about that particular part of the story, which Ursula really didn't find surprising. What she did find surprising was that Akko didn't realize the reason Diana did that. But then again, she could be rather dense when it came to reading her own feelings, much less other people's.

"Well, I may not know Diana as much as you do." Ursula started, using what she hoped was a soothing tone. "But for what I've seen, I've always had the impression she was raised to never question authority. Didn't you say she had a hostile relationship with her "evil" aunt?"

"Yeah…" Akko furrowed her eyebrows, apparently considering her professor's words before dismissing them quickly with a shake of her head. "But she still stood up against her… kind of. She tried to become the head of the family!"

"Only because her family's legacy was in danger _and_ the traditions allowed her to become head on that specific date." Ursula reasoned. "Otherwise I doubt she would have done anything. Call me crazy, but Diana doesn't strike me as the type to go against her elders."

Akko opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it again, not finding a good rebuttal. Instead, she pouted and spoke with a dejected voice.

"I still wished she would have stood up for me, or something."

"People won't always do what we want from them, or even what we _expect_." The professor answered patiently. "We all have our on stories, our own traumas and experiences that make us who we are and make us act in ways that sometimes aren't the most logical or ethical."

"So you're saying…" Akko sighed. "That I should try to put myself in Diana's shoes and understand why she acted as she did?" Ursula nodded, happy that her student had understood her so easily, and Akko sighed once again. "Alright, I guess I can do that." Then another thought entered her head. "I'll never understand Finnelan though; she's just pure evil."

"I used to believe that too." Ursula chuckled. "But believe it or not, she has her own story that makes her who she is." Akko watched as her eyes turned slightly sad for a second, and distant, like she was reminiscing about something, which sparked Akko's curiosity.

"I sense there's a story behind that sentence." Akko commented, already getting herself comfortable on her seat.

"Ah… well, yes, but I really don't know if I should share it with you." Ursula hesitated. After all, even if it was primarily a story about her school days, it also would reveal something about Finnelan's private life, which really wasn't her place to disclose.

"Oh, come on! Then how do you expect me to see her as anything but a vengeful monster?" The Japanese witch whined, pouting as adorably as ever. "Come oooonnn." She insisted when Ursula deviated her gaze in a poor attempt to avoid giving in. "I promise I won't say anything! And besides, hearing one of your stories would lift up my spirits right now."

"Fine." Ursula ultimately agreed, deciding it was a harmless enough story, and would hopefully help Akko deal with what was happening to her, so she sighed and debated where she should start. "Alright, this might sound weird, but today I'm gonna tell you the story of how I met two of my closest friends."

* * *

This day, like most days lately, I stayed up late at the Astronomy Tower helping Croix prepare the healing potion. It was the sixth time we did it, but I still got it wrong, only this time I don't even know _why_. I just know it ended up being purple when it should have been green. But oh well, I hope we'll have more luck in the future. Thankfully Croix is being very patient with me as usual.

I yawn as I walk down the dark corridor alone, feeling rather lonely. Usually Croix walks me to my room, but today she was tired and decided to sleep on her couch at her secret lab. And I get it, she not only has to do all her homework and study to be on top of each class, but she's also trying to cure her arm _and_ help me catch up with my classmates. It must be so exhausting! She practically collapsed as soon as I said goodnight.

Still, I wish she was here. What if Finnelan finds me? I bet Croix would be able to come up with some sort of excuse.

Just as I'm thinking about that, I see a light coming down the corridor towards me, no doubt belonging to a professor. My blood instantly freezes and my heart drops to the pit of my stomach. I look around, desperately searching for a escape route, and I'm about to bolt back from where I came from when a hand presses over my mouth and someone drags me into a dark room. I try to get off their grip, but they're as strong as two people, so my attempts are rather futile. They keep me pressed against the door until we hear the steps outside recede, indicating the teacher is gone. Then, and only then, they release me, but before I can bolt out the room and cry for help, a bright ball of teal light appears in front of me, illuminating…

"Enid? Anaid?" I instantly recognize my mischievous classmates, even though they're a bit transparent and only their heads are truly visible, indicating they have an invisibility spell active but it's starting to wear off.

They're from the yellow and pink teams respectively, since the academy wisely decided that keeping them separated was better for the well being of everyone in the school. One of them wears her long dark brown hair on a braid, and the other one keeps it loose, which is the only way to distinguish them aside from the color of their sashes. They're also about the same size as me, but their complexion is even thinner somehow, their skin is of a beautiful tan color though, and their dark eyes sparkle with mischief at all times. All in all, they're an interesting duo, but one I'd rather avoid if I want to stay out of trouble.

They both shush me when I say their names a little too loudly for their liking.

"What are you doing here?" I scream-whisper.

"We could ask the exact same thing, you know?" The one from the pink team (Anaid?) answers.

"Not that it's all that surprising." Her twin shrugs. "I mean if there's another troublemaker in this school that rivals our reputation, it's Chariot."

"I'm not a troublemaker!" I immediately protest, only to receive two equal deadpan looks. "At least not on purpose!"

"Pity." Enid says. "You have a natural talent."

"Yeah, you sure you don't want to give it a try? You're already here." Anaid ads.

"Thanks, but I'd rather go to bed before Finnelan catches me and punishes me _again._ " I turn around, ready to open the door and go back to my room, when their voices stop me.

"And what if we told you, we know of a way to blackmail Finnelan so that she never bothers us again?"

"Blackmail is wrong." I say, more to myself than to them. Come on, Chariot, don't fall for it! This surely won't end well.

"Well, isn't it also wrong that she constantly treats you badly?" One of them counters. I don't know which because I still have my back turned to them. "Remember the other day when she called you to the front to read some lunar runes and then chastised you in front of the class when you couldn't? She could have chosen anyone else, but she picked you; she _always_ does."

"She knows you struggle more than the rest of us, and wants everyone to notice." The other twin agrees. "It's rather evident that she wishes to see you expelled."

Even though a part of me agrees wholeheartedly with their words, I still know I shouldn't listen to the most mischievous witches in the school. I _really_ don't need to get in any more trouble. Even if taking revenge on Finnelan actually sounds good… wait, no, stop it Chariot! Stop it!

"I'm gonna go now. You two go cause havoc without me." I answer, but I'm about to reach for the doorknob, when a voice stops me once again.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Yeah, you don't want to activate the security system, believe me."

"Huh?" Security system? I thought the only rooms in school to have it were Holbrooke and Finnelan's offices… wait.

I get out my wand and cast a simple illumination spell, adding light to the one already emanating from one of the twins' wands and the moonlight coming from the window. I'm not sure how I didn't notice before! But that desk and those shelves are truly unmistakable, especially since I've been here more times than I would want to admit. This is Finnelan's office! Oh no, I'm gonna be in so much trouble!

"You're so mean! Why did you drag me into this?" I scowl at the mischievous girls.

"You mean you'd rather have gotten caught wandering after curfew?" Enid raises an eyebrow.

"We saved you." Her twin agrees. "The least you can do is say thank you."

Okay. They do have a point. But now that I think about it…

"Fine, thank you, whatever. But how did you get in here without activating the security system?"

"We just…" Anaid smirks, trailing off as she looks at her sister, who shares the same expression.

"… used the key." Enid finishes, as she reaches into her pocket and extracts the shiny object that is a big golden key, dangling it in front of my face.

"Give me that!" I demand, reaching out to take it since I know it's my only hope of getting out of here undetected, but Enid immediately raises her arm, placing it out of my reach and laughing when I reach up to try and snatch it off her fingers. Then, after seeing me struggle for a few seconds in clear amusement, she throws it towards her twin, who swiftly catches it and puts it inside her _bra_. And now I can't grab it without looking like a pervert. Great.

"Don't worry, we'll give it to you." Anaid says reassuringly.

"But you'll have to help us search for what we're looking for." Enid adds, still wearing that odious smirk on her face.

"Which is?" I ask cautiously.

"Something we can use against Finnelan the next time she's mean to us." She shrugs.

"Like an embarrassing picture or an incriminating letter." Anaid clarifies.

"If you do it, you won't only get the key, and will be able to get out of here undetected."

"We'll also share the benefits with you, meaning…"

"…Finnelan won't bother you again."

"Deal?" They both finish, completing each other's phrases, as they extend their hands for me to shake.

Realizing I probably don't have an option anyways and that if I were to do something rash I could end up alerting the teachers I'm here and getting myself expelled, _and_ knowing if I go along with their mischievous antics this could actually end up in a positive outcome (if I'm lucky), I end up sighing as I shake their hands, using both of my hands at the same time.

"Deal." I agree reluctantly.

"Great!" Anaid smiles.

"Let's get to work then!" Instantly, they both release me and go off to search around the room using their wands as light sources, and with a sigh I resign myself to do the same.

I first start searching at the desk, since Enid and Anaid are looking at the bookshelves that are on opposite walls, but I find nothing inside the drawers between the papers she keeps there; it's all school-related, and the most personal things in there are pretty boring; just a handkerchief and some pills for the migraine. Huh, I wonder if Lukić knows she'd rather use modern medicine than one of her potions. I don't blame Finnelan though; I wouldn't drink anything brewed by Lukić.

Since my search is futile, I resort to going to see if there's something on the shelf that's right to the desk, but that also yields no results; not even when I push and pull every book on the shelf to search for some kind of hidden mechanism that reveals a secret compartment or something.

But I don't find anything, so I decide to go check on Anaid, who is searching on the bookshelf next to me, but as I pass the section of wooden wall that separates both shelves, I notice something strange. There are ornaments carved on the wall representing five wand handles forming a semicircle above the symbol of Luna Nova, under which there are two crossed brooms over a drawer handle without drawer, and some sort of staff positioned horizontally at the bottom.

What's weird is that the wand handles lack the actual body of the wand (the thing that actually casts the magic), but in the middle of them there's a small point of light that seems to shine brighter the closer I get my wand towards it. Curious, I decide to touch that spot with the ball of magic that's at the point of my wand, and I'm rather surprised when I see the Luna Nova symbol illuminating. I proceed to touch it as well, and the spot where the brooms intersect makes a clicking sound as it pushes itself slightly inside the wall, and I decide to use my finger to push it even further, which makes a point made of green light materialize above the drawer handle and then move forming a small rectangle around it… the drawer! I quickly pull the handle and, sure enough, the drawer detaches itself from the wall allowing me to peer inside. And what I see is…

"Hey! Did you find something?" I'm startled by a loud voice pretty close to my right ear, and I end up jumping in fright with my heart racing like I just ran a marathon.

"Don't do that!" I scowl at Enid, the culprit.

"What did you find?" A second voice scares me out of my skin before I turn my glare at the direction of the other twin, who is standing on my right side.

"You two are going to give me a heart attack!" I yell, only to be immediately shushed by the twins, and yeah, I don't want to get caught, but my nerves are already on edge without their help, so I think they could be more considerate. Still, I return my gaze towards the drawer, curious as to what could possibly be so important for Finnelan to put it under a magical lock puzzle.

"Do you think those are the answers to the exams?" Anaid asks, peering at the stack of papers inside. I just hum in acknowledgement, but I really don't think that's the case; they're folded into small rectangles, some envelope-sized, and other larger or smaller, and their textures are different.

Curious, I take one and unfold it. It's a picture of two girls dressed in the Luna Nova Uniform, one appearing to be older than the other one and smiling proudly at her, while the younger one has a cheerful and excited expression.

"Do you think she keeps pictures of her students?" Anaid says.

"Creepy." Her sister shudders.

"I don't know. This photo looks pretty old." Sure, it's magic, so it doesn't deteriorate, but it was taken on black and white, and there are lines forming a cross where it was folded.

Needing to solve the mystery, I put the picture back inside the drawer and take another paper out. This time, when I unfold it, I find a letter addressed to Finnelan, but the sender used her first name.

 _Dear Anne:_

 _You haven't written in so long. How are you? I've been fine. I know you still don't approve of me running away to explore the world instead of pursuing further education, but this is my dream and it makes me happy, so I hope you don't hate me for it. I've learned so much during the past few months! There are so many different ways of being a witch. Did you know that in some countries they still hunt us? It's like they're stuck in the middle ages! But in others we're very respected, especially in places mostly untouched by technology. So, yeah, it's been amazing. I promise I will be careful and write as much as I possibly can. See you on Christmas!_

 _Love, Bertha._

"Look at the date!" Enid says, pointing at the top of the envelope.

"1971. How old." Anaid nods.

"Do you think it's from Finnelan's daughter?" Enid asks.

"No, it'd be weird if her daughter called her Anne." I shake my head. "Plus, I don't think Finnelan has a daughter in the first place."

"And if she did, she'd have ran away as soon as she learned to walk." Anaid giggles and we join in. That's so true. No one would want Finnelan to be their mother with how strict she is. But then, who is this Bertha?

I keep searching on the stack of papers, mostly letters from the same person, as well as a couple of pictures. I have to say, even if she's not her daughter, I can still see the family resemblance, though she's far more expressive and relaxed. A sibling, maybe?

After a while, at the bottom of the drawer, I find a piece of newspaper. The headline reads " _English tourist burned alive when locals find out she's a witch._ "

My blood instantly runs cold, but I keep reading anyways; it's not very long after all, and a picture of none other than Bertha occupies most of the space.

 _Bertha Finnelan of 22 years had been visiting the rural parts of the country of Karashgad, which has a reputation for being one of the few countries where using magic is still considered a serious crime, usually punishable by death. Although the medieval practices have been largely replaced by more human methods, like the electric chair, the locals resorted to take matters into their own hands when they saw the English woman use her magic to prevent a rock slide._

 _This authorities confirmed that…_

I close my eyes as I fold the piece of paper. I've read enough.

Slowly, I put it back where it was, feeling like the worst piece of shit in existence. Why did we have to invade Finnelan's privacy? Why did I have to participate in this stupid prank and find the secret lock? Now my heart hurts for my professor, knowing she once had someone she loved, and who was killed by a mob of ignorant and angry people, like so many more witches have. I feel ill. This isn't something we should have found, and I'd definitely never use it against Finnelan.

"Come on Chariot, let's go." Anaid says in a quiet tone as she places a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah… there's nothing here." Enid agrees, sounding a bit strangled.

"Let's go." I nod, and reach forward to return the drawer to its original place. As luck would have it, however, in that very moment the door swings open and the lights turn on. The three of us jump in surprise as we turn around, only to see none other than Finnelan herself staring at us with a mix of surprise and anger.

Her eyes move lower, the drawer still being held in my hands, and I sweat cold when I realize we screwed up big time and she's undoubtedly going to punish us, or get us expelled. With good reason this time.

"Miss du Nord." She scowls. "Why am I not surprised to find you trespassing at such late hours along with the Anfley twins?"

"I-I… we…" As I look down to the small drawer full of her personal belongings, I realize we have no excuse and the best we can do is ask for forgiveness. "We're sorry." I say, stepping towards the professor and extending the drawer towards her for her to take. She does so rather harshly and keeps looking at me with an enraged expression. "We didn't mean to… we only wanted to come up with a small prank, or something, not…" I trail off. What can I even call what we did?

"Chariot, please, we dragged you into it!" Enid steps in to defend me.

"Yeah, if someone has to be blamed here, it's us." Her twin agrees, startling me greatly. I didn't expect them to be the type to assume the consequences of their actions.

"B-but girls…" I start, but I'm interrupted by Finnelan's voice.

"Stop! Now go to your rooms. I expect to see you for detention tomorrow after classes." The three of us nod, terrified under Finnelan's stern gaze. "Go."

Quickly, we hurry away, relived that she let us go so easily, but as I'm about to close the door, I see Finnelan sitting down at her desk and looking down at the drawer with a saddened gaze… only for her to look up when she realizes I'm staring and giving me such a glare that I end up instantly closing the door, my heart thumping.

Well, Finnelan is still as scary as always, if not more so. But, I can't help also thinking… seeing what I saw in there makes her seem less like a monster and more like a _human_ , with her own story to tell. I can barely imagine how she might have felt when she read that newspaper. Gosh, it must have been horrible.

"Chariot?" Anaid's voice startles me.

"Are you going to just keep staring at that door for the rest of the night?" Her sister teases, but her voice lack the usual carefree energy, and her smile doesn't reach her eyes.

"I-I… right. Let's go." I nod stiffly and start following them to the dorms, only sparing one last glance at Finnelan's door.

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, sorry, no Charoix this time, but maybe next chapter :)**

 **I hope you enjoyed it nontheless and that you let me know your thoughts with a review. I'd really appreciate it. As always, thanks for reading, and thanks to all of you who have favorited/followed/review so far, I really appreciate the support as it motivates me to keep writing.**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**

 **PS: If you're wondering, the twins are based off two characters that appear briefly when the fountain of Polaris shows Akko some fragments from Chariot's past. Since they are by her side on two of those memories, I just assumed they were her friends. Google them, if you want, or you can also go to my Tumblr blog, Tania Hylian, since I'll probably be posting the screencaptures I used to create them.**


	11. I know I can fly

**Chapter 11: I know I can fly!**

Akko laughed as she heard Lotte describing what Sucy had done earlier during one of the classes the trio didn't take together. Granted, Lotte was more agitated than amused, since their mushroom-loving friend had gotten so bored in class she'd ended up trying a potion while the lecture was still ongoing, ending up on turning all her fellow classmates _and_ the teacher into various animals (most of them of the creepy type). And now she was on detention with Finnelan, who had thankfully momentarily forgotten about Akko's existence in favor of dealing with the other troublemaker from the red team.

"That was sick!" Amanda laughed too. "I wished I had been there to see it."

"It's not funny Amanda!" Lotte protested. "And stop laughing Akko! It was very terrifying."

"What did she turn you into?" Akko asked, barely able to contain her laughter.

"… I'd rather not tell." Her friend shuddered at the memory, making the other two girls laugh again.

"Okay, I guess I'll leave you here." Amanda commented as they came to a stop next to the stairs. "I'm meeting Jaz and Cons at the fields to practice."

"Practice for what?" Akko asked, tilting her head to the side.

"The broom relay race." The American explained. "Did you really not hear Nelson yesterday during class?"

"I think I was too busy trying not to fall off my broom. Again." Akko huffed, but then she registered what Amanda had said first and a happy smile appeared on her face. "Wait… The race? When is it?"

"In two weeks." Amanda gave her a shit-eating grin. "But I really don't think you should compete, unless you want to get your ass kicked."

"Hey! Should I remind you we came second last year?" The Japanese girl pouted indignantly.

"Yeah, but that was only because you stole my Shooting Star." She dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

" _Your_ Shooting Star?" Akko stared at her, unbelieving of her words. "You stole it!"

"Well, still, there's no way you'll win now that there's no legendary broom involved." Amanda teased, placing her hands on the back of her neck as she gave her the most infuriating smile Akko had ever seen.

"You'll see, we'll totally make you eat our dirt!" Akko threatened, but her friend just laughed and waved her goodbye as she started descending the stairs. As soon as she was out of sight, however, the Japanese girl turned to Lotte, her eyes full of conviction and determination.

"Come on, Lotte! Let's go train too. We can't let them win!"

"Uh… Shouldn't we go register ourselves first?" Lotte suggested sheepishly. "And besides, Sucy is on detention today, and didn't you have to go to Professor Chariot after classes?"

"Oh. That's right." Akko deflated slightly at the thought. Not because she didn't want to see her favorite professor, but because it was part of her punishment for blowing up the laundry; after said incident Finnelan had decided that it wasn't safe to leave Akko unsupervised and had insisted she'd help Ursula on her daily tasks instead. But that meant she wouldn't have time to practice flying! … Unless she asked her to help her? Maybe she could then get Lotte and Sucy to tag along. It was worth a shot.

"Alright! Bye, Lotte. See you later!" She exclaimed as she pretty much skipped up the stairs towards the Astronomy Tower.

* * *

"Ursula-sensei!" Akko yelled as she (yet again) barged into her teacher's chambers without knocking. "Come on, let's get this done quickly! I need to go practice flying!"

"O-oh, Akko!" The professor startled, looking like a deer in highlights as she clutched a smartphone against her chest, standing frozen in her position in the middle of the tower.

"Huh? Were you talking to someone?" Akko asked as she looked at the device, which had a strange resemblance to those Croix had given them for her class.

"Ahm… well…" The redheaded woman stuttered, alternating her gaze between her student and the phone she was holding.

"Chariot? Are you still there?" A voice sounded from it. A voice Akko easily recognized.

"Wait, is that Croix-sensei? Let me talk to her!" Before Ursula could react, Akko covered the distance between them and took the smartphone off her hands in one swift movement, pressing it against her ear before her professor could do anything about it.

"Konichiwa, Croix-sensei!" She greeted her in her native language, hoping to make it easier for the older woman to recognize her.

"Ah… A-Akko?" Croix answer from the other side of the line, sounding rather confused.

"Yep! You remember me, right? How have you been?"

"Fine, I guess. Life is nice here. In… in prison." Akko could practically feel the awkwardness radiating from her voice.

"Good. I hope you can come back as soon as possible though. Ursula-sensei misses you a lot!"

"Akko!" Chariot blushed, and without thinking lunged to try and get the device out of her student's hands, but Akko realized her intentions in time and dodged her, moving around the room in an attempt to keep talking to her former professor as long as possible.

"She… does?" Croix asked, clearly unsure of what to make of this new information.

"Yeah! She spends several hours a day talking about you." Akko said, much to the dismay of the redheaded witch. Granted, she had already told Croix as much, but Akko made it sound so much more… _incriminating_ than it truly was.

"Akko, give me that!" Chariot tried to take it off her student's hands once again, but Akko dodged her one more time.

"Really?" Somehow Croix managed to sound disbelieving and smug at the same time.

"Uhuh." Akko nodded in affirmation. "She's told me several stories about you already."

"Well, why don't you ask her to tell you about…" Before Akko could listen to her ex-professor's suggestion, the cellphone literally disappeared from her hand, only to reappear on Chariot's, just in time for the redhead to hear her the rest of Croix's sentence. "… the loveshroom?"

"Really, Croix?" Chariot deadpanned upon hearing her friend.

"What? You must admit it's quite amusing in retrospective." She chuckled.

"Yes, but I don't believe I should tell _Akko_ about something as dangerous as that."

"Didn't you put it on one of your silly cards? I'm sure she's already memorized everything about the loveshroom." Chariot opened her mouth to respond, but then closed it again, not finding any way to defend herself. Sure, back then she thought it was harmless enough given most people wouldn't take stuff in trading cards seriously, but when it comes to Akko… yeah. Probably not the best idea to encourage her to make the same mistakes she did.

"Ah… look Croix, I'll call you later, alright?" She wisely decided not to comment on what the lilac haired witch had just said.

"Yeah. I get it; duty calls." She sighed. "It was nice talking to you though. Say goodbye to Akko for me, alright?"

"Sure. Take care." Ursula smiled, glad that Croix didn't seem to have any ill-will towards her favorite student anymore.

"You too. Bye!"

"Bye."

As soon as Chariot hung up, she turned to glare at Akko, who squealed under her strict gaze and tried to give her an innocent smile.

"That was terribly impolite." The professor scolded her.

"Oh, come on! I just wanted to say hi. And you wouldn't have let me if I asked." She argued.

"Akko, you shouldn't…"

"Can you scold me on the way to wherever we have to go? I want to get this over as soon as possible." Akko hastily cut her off.

"Why the rush?" Ursula narrowed her eyes, suspecting Akko was up to something, which was generally not a good thing.

"I need to practice! For the broom race." She quickly explained. "I was actually hoping you'd help me?" She have her one of those beautiful smiles, so innocent and pure and _pleading_ , that seemed to have a magic power on its own. "You know, since you once won?"

Chariot wanted to say yes with all her heart. Yet, there was something holding her back. And it was a very real, very tangible reason.

"Ah… Shouldn't you ask one of your friends instead? Perhaps Diana, since she won last year." She tried to get herself out of it.

"But you're my sensei." Akko complained. "You're supposed to teach me."

"Yeah, but…" She trailed off, looking towards her broom which was reclined on the wall gathering dust, waiting for its mistress to use it again. Something that probably wouldn't happen in a very long time… if at all. "Akko, you know I can't fly anymore." She answered sadly.

"I know, but… you could still try to just explain it to me, you know? Maybe tell me one of your stories or something? I just… I don't want to ask Diana." Akko sighed, appearing to deflate a little for a second, which worried the professor immensely.

"Is something wrong between you two?" She asked cautiously as she took a step forward, as if closing the physical distance between them would make it easier to understand what was on Akko's mind.

"Not really, I just…" Akko grimaced. "It'd be awkward."

"You haven't talked to her since yesterday, have you?" Chariot knowingly said.

"No…" Akko shook her head, averting her gaze to the ground. "I wanted to, but words just wouldn't come to me. I was acting silly, and I just… I don't know. I don't think I'm ready yet."

"You know problems won't solve themselves, right?" The professor raised an eyebrow at the answer.

"I know, I just… please? Just for today. I promise I'll talk to Diana tomorrow." Ursula wanted to say no; tell her it was best not to postpone it, and that talking it out sooner would be better for both of them. But she also knew nothing good comes out of pushing people to do things they're not ready for yet, so at the end she relented.

"Fine, but just today." She answered sternly.

"Great! And will you tell me how you won the broom race too?" Akko smiled with the brightness of a thousand suns, and the biggest eyes full of hope Chariot had ever seen.

"Okay. You win." She sighed.

"Yay! Let's go!" Akko exclaimed as she ran out of the tower without waiting for her teacher, even if she didn't know where they had to go. Chariot just chuckled and shook her head, and was about to follow her when her eyes wandered to her broom once again. And that's when she had a great idea.

* * *

Today was a good day. Great even! Why? Well, simply because today we have two full hours of flying lessons; the only class I'm actually good at… or would be, if I followed the rules. You see, I've always _loved_ flying on a broom. It's quite possibly my favorite aspect of being a witch, and when I was a kid I used to do it all the time (even if my aunt almost had a heart attack when she saw me flying for the first time). As such, just doing the boring exercises we practice in class doesn't satisfy me at all. I'm used to flying at the highest of heights, going at the fastest of speeds and making dangerous tricks in midair that never fail to impress whoever witnesses them.

Except Professor Nelson. She's never happy with what I do. Mostly because I almost never follow her instructions, but I can't help it! I'm _so_ above the level of my classmates. Like, come on! Give me a challenge!

And today that challenge has arrived.

"Alright, ladies. Listen." Nelson says once the class has ended and she's reunited us at the center of the field to share a few words. "Before you go, I just wanted to make an announcement: the annual Broom Relay's inscriptions are open now." At this, the other girl's start murmuring excitedly, but I just look around in confusion. I'd never heard of that before. "For those of you who don't know, this is an ancient tradition of the school; a friendly competition in which you can test your flying skills against your classmates."

She pauses, and I practically start to bounce in place from the excitement. A broom race! Finally! I'll be able to show everyone I'm more than capable of being a competent witch!

"Now, as the name implies, this is a _relay_ race, meaning you'll have to participate in teams of three. The same teams you have been assigned by color." She continues.

Wait, what? I turn to look worriedly at my teammates, who both appear to be rather disinterested in this whole affair. Great.

"Also, before you decide if you want to participate or not, take into account that second and third years are also allowed to participate, so I recommend you that, if you don't feel like you're ready yet, just wait for another year or two before trying." Nelson then pauses, looking around at our group. "I admit some of you have potential, but you'll have to work as a team and _play by the rules_ if you want to win." Her gaze definitely lingered on me for a second there. Rude.

"But I will always support you if you wish to compete." She smiles, looking around at all the girls forming a semicircle around her. "Alright, that's all for today. Now go to your class before Finnelan comes get you herself." She chuckles at her little joke before mounting her broom and flying away, leaving us to make our way towards the main building.

Of course, I immediately turn to my teammates and shoot them the best puppy dog eyes I can muster as I put my hands in a begging position.

"Can we? Can we?!"

"No, Chariot." Karen immediately says and starts walking away.

"Why not?" I ask as I rush to catch up to her.

"Because I don't want to." She just shrugs.

"Give me a good reason!" I protest, and she stops at this, turning around to glare at me.

"You want a good reason? Alright. I'll give you three: I'm absolutely sick of you acting like a freaking clown all the time and not taking anything seriously, I'm sick of Amelia being as slow as a snail when it comes to flying, and I definitely don't fancy making a fool of myself in the race because of you two. So leave me alone." And with that she storms off, leaving me rooted to the ground at her outburst. Sure, she's criticized me before, and she's gotten angry at Amelia a couple of times, but that was a little too harsh.

"She's right, you know?" I hear Amelia's voice next to me and I startle in surprise. I hadn't seen her catch up with us, but I guess she overheard everything, given her sad smile. "I'm not all that good at flying."

"So what? I don't care if we win!" I protest. "I just think it could be fun, you know?"

"That's another thing." She sighs. "You just want to have fun and don't care about the consequences. You don't take anything seriously."

"I can be serious about this! I promise." I say, giving her my best smile.

"You've promised as much before." She shrugs before walking away, not giving me a chance to answer.

Ugh. What's up with my teammates? I hate them! They don't believe in me one bit.

"Ha. Looks like Chariot has scared her team away." I hear a mocking voice at my back.

"Not like that is a rare occurrence." An equally mocking voice answers.

I turn around and see that my suspicions are correct; standing there are no other than the mischievous twins Anaid and Enid. Yeah, those again.

"What do you want?" I glare at them.

It's not like I don't like them; they aren't actually mean and just like doing harmless pranks and generally getting in trouble, but sometimes they make me really mad with their carefree attitude. Plus, I need someone to discharge my frustrations at.

"Nothing." Enid shrugs, trying to appear nonchalant, even if in her smirk I can see she's clearly planning something.

"Just to help you convince your teammates to participate in the race." Anaid smiles.

"Why?" I ask, suspicious. Now this is just weird.

"Because if you race, there's no way we'll lose." Enid answers, matter-of-factly.

"Hey!" I protest.

" _And_ because we want to be your friends." Anaid quickly says while glaring at her sister, who only shrugs.

Wait a minute... friends? I mean, Croix is fine and all, but sometimes she doesn't have time for me, and has never really called me her friend because she's so afraid of showing even the minimum amount of affection. And I like having friends. Many friends! Back home I had a handful, but here at Luna Nova I usually feel rather lonely. And the twins are nice. Yeah, their teasing can get annoying, but I don't think they have bad intentions, so...

"Fine." I sigh. "What do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking we could do a little prank on them, you know?" Enid smiles mischievously. "I mean, they've been rude to you, so they deserve it."

"And then we could threaten them to do worse until they let you race." Anaid finishes, her sister nodding along at the suggestion, but I just give them a deadpan stare.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think they'd hate me even more if we do that." I sigh. "I'm afraid I'll have to convince them on my own."

"Booooring!" Enid sing-songs.

"Maybe, but probably more effective." I smirk. "You'll see, I'll kick your asses in the race."

"As if!" Anaid laughs. "We have a few tricks up our sleeves."

"Oh?" I raise an eyebrow. "You mean you'll cheat?" They don't even try to deny it; both just nod happily and give each other a high five. "But I thought you said if I compete there's no way you'll lose." I pause, glad to be the one teasing them for a change. "Surely you don't need to cheat in order to beat the school's dunce, right?"

They both look at each other as they stutter for an answer, while I just laugh at their dumbfounded expressions.

"Very well, Chariot, you win." Enid finally answers, rolling her eyes. "If you somehow convince your teammates to compete at the race..."

"And that's a big _if_." Anaid interferes.

"... Then we won't cheat. Deal?" Enid finishes.

"Deal." I nod satisfied. "Now, if you excuse me, I have two teammates to persuade."

* * *

"Please?" I whine for the hundredth as I watch my teammates from my position with my legs on the mattress and my head hanging upside-down.

"No." They both respond at the same time, and I frown at their rejection.

"What about now?"

"Still no." Karen says, continuing to read her stupid book.

"And now?"

"No." Amelia sighs, obviously getting tired of me already.

"Come on! What do you want me to do? Do our chores for a week? A month? Whatever you want I promise I'll do it, just… please!" I beg once again, repeating the same routine we've been doing for the past hour or so.

"Why can't you just accept that we don't want to participate on that stupid race?" Karen pretty much snarls at me.

"If I wasn't on your team you'd compete without a second thought." I pout.

"And if Amelia wasn't such a snail." She retorts, shooting an annoyed glance at our other teammate.

"Well, I certainly don't find the thought of being on the same team as such a bully as you to be a pleasant experience." Amelia shoots back, glaring at the brown-haired girl.

"G-girls, please, calm down." I quickly sit up, not wanting them to start fighting once again and make all of this even harder. Unfortunately I stayed upside down too long and ended up getting dizzy, having to take a moment to regain my bearings.

"Shut up, Chariot." Karen makes a face as her eyes fall back down to her book.

"Wait, please, just listen okay? I know we don't get along very well, but I truly believe that this could be a good experience to…"

"Hate each other even more?" Amelia sighs, rubbing her temple as she shoots a meaningful glance towards Karen.

"No!" I quickly reply, baffled by the sheer pessimism in the blonde's tone. "J-just… look, we…"

"Why do you even care about some stupid race you most probably aren't going to win anyways?" Karen asks with an annoyed tone. And honestly? I don't feel like explaining all my motivations to her since I know she most likely won't understand anyways, but… okay, she asked so the least I can do is answer, especially if I want her on my side. Even if I don't wish to discuss something so personal.

So, after taking a deep breath and mentally preparing myself, I start talking.

"W-well, you see… I-I…"

"Oh wait! I just remembered that I don't care." She rudely interrupts me before I can really say anything.

"Karen!" Amelia chastises her, probably also noticing how mean that was, but it's too late. Her words have already had their affect, cutting straight to my heart. Usually I just try to ignore her, hoping that if I don't react to what she says she'll just leave me alone, but I just can't take it anymore! Not when I was about to open up to them, at the risk of getting ridiculed.

But who cares about a stupid race anyways? Who cares about some stupid childhood dream? Surely not them. They don't care about me at all.

Getting up without a word, I simply glare at Karen as I walk briskly to the exit, trying to ignore the uncomfortable weight on my chest and the tight knot on my throat. I try not to think about the fact that, despite sleeping in the same room and doing pretty much everything school-related together, my roommates haven't made one attempt to get to know me, or see me as anything more than bad luck on their end; a burden they have to carry.

I pretty much throw the door open and stomp down the corridor, not looking where I'm going and just wishing to be alone so that I can calm down and bury these stupid feelings of worthlessness and ugly thoughts that say perhaps Karen and Amelia are right to treat me the way they do. That perhaps I really shouldn't be here. That maybe I should have just listened to my aunt and attended a stupid non-magical school instead of pursuing a stupid and hopeless dream that in the end won't take me anywhere because I have no talent at all.

* * *

Soon I find myself at the courtyard sitting on one of the benches, looking down at the grass as the soft warmth of the twilight does nothing to keep at bay the cold creeping inside my chest. Cold that's fed by all the doubts that have surged inside my head ever since I first had the idea of becoming a witch; when my aunt told me I should probably chose a better path for my life.

This feeling… it's ugly. It's unpleasant. It's a feeling I wish I could destroy with a simple spell. But I don't think even conjuring magical butterflies could serve me now.

It'll be alright though; I just need to wait until I can bury these bad feelings deep down and face the future with a smile on my face. As I always do.

"Chariot!" I tense up when I hear my name being called, fearing it'll be Amelia or Karen, but then I recognize the voice and relax slightly. "There you are, I've been looking _everywhere_ for you!"

"Croix." I try to smile as greeting, even if I only look up to her for a second before returning my gaze to the grass. "Do you mind if I don't help you today? I'm not feeling well."

"… Are you okay?" She asks hesitantly after a couple of seconds of silence, apparently just now realizing I'm not as cheerful and energetic as usual.

"I will be." I shrug with a grimace. "It's nothing. I just need to be alone for a while."

"Okay." She answers, remaining standing there as if waiting for something a few moments longer, but then she turns around and starts walking away. And well, I did want to be alone but, is it weird that a part of me wishes she had stayed instead? That she had insisted I tell her what's wrong? At least that'd show she cares.

But come on. She's Croix Meridies. _Of course_ she doesn't care about me. Why would she? I'm just a stupid, clumsy, reckless, idiot…

"Uh… do you want to talk about it?" My head shoots up in an instant when I hear her voice once again, only to see her standing there, rubbing the back of her neck and looking uncomfortable. Wait… did she come back?

"Huh?" I'm so baffled by the thought that I can't form a coherent answer.

"Whatever is bothering you?" She clarifies. "Does it have to do with your roommates?"

"I-I… Ah… well… How do you know that?" I stutter, still not quite believing what's happening.

"I went to ask if they knew where you were, and they gave me some pretty funny looks, so…" She shrugs. "Are they bullying you again? Cause I could turn them into stone if you asked." Croix then chuckles in an attempt to alleviate the tension, but I just fake a smile out of politeness.

"That would be nice." I try to joke. "But it wouldn't bring me any closer to participating in the broom relay race." I then add sourly.

"Really? All of this for a stupid race?" Croix deadpans.

"It's not just about the race!" I yell, glaring at her. I mean, even if it was, why would she dismiss it like that? But anyways, there's much more to it than me just wanting to win a golden trophy. But of course she wouldn't understand, so I just sigh and go back to staring at the ground.

"Okay? Maybe if you told me why this is so important to you I could help you convince your teammates." She says hesitantly, not doubt confused by my outburst.

"I-I… well, I…" I pause, doubt clouding my mind. But I don't understand, why am I hesitating? I was ready to bare my soul to my mean roommates! Telling Croix should be easy. I mean, we're friends, right?

… Right?

"Look, if it's too personal you don't have to tell me." She backpedals, but I panic because I do need to talk about this with someone, and if my roommates won't listen to me, then…

"N-no, wait! I-I…" I take a deep breath, mentally preparing once again. "Okay… Look, I know this sounds weird, but it all started when I was little." I sigh. "As you know, my grandma died when I was five, a-and afterwards my aunt decided to take care of me." I quickly explain. "She was good to me, and she always made sure to tend to my every need, but…" I pause, remembering the deep feeling of… _something_ I couldn't quite put a name to back then, just knowing I didn't like it.

"I felt like… like an important part of me was missing. And it didn't take me too long to realize that this was because she wasn't a witch, and she didn't want me to be one." I frown, the memories of the many times we fought because of it entering my head.

"I remember my aunt telling me that magic was useless in the modern world; that what was valued now was science, technology and innovation. That she didn't want me to be like my mom, and my grandma, and my great grandma, and so on; trapped on the family's farm, solving the little problems of the nearby villagers without ever getting to experience the real world."

"And yeah, I didn't want that either. I wanted to be a witch who could inspire other people; who could make them see that magic could be just as awesome as modern technology, if not more so. I said I'd try to learn it on my own, but…" I trail off, frowning. "You know I'm not exactly the sharpest knife in the shelf." I let out a bitter chuckle.

"For many years I tried learning different spells, but I still couldn't do any magic. That is until…" A small smile finally appears on my face. "Until I learned to fly."

"It was the first time I was able to decipher those stupid runes and realized the spell should be cast on a magic broom." I explain. "Thankfully I had my mother's, and I used it to fly around the fields every day. It was absolutely amazing, honestly." I let out a wistful sigh. "For the first time I felt whole. I experienced some sort of _connection_ with my mom. With my grandma. With my ancestors in general. I felt like a _real_ witch. And it was only because of it that I started studying harder than ever, trying to learn as many spells as possible before I could be accepted in Luna Nova."

"Flying was what allowed me to become a witch, Croix. It's the thing I do best, and I just want everyone to know that yes, this dunce has a talent. I want them to see me as an equal." I feel my shoulders tense when I recall what happened earlier in my room. "But it's not going to happen because my roommates don't think I can do this. And I don't know, a part of me wonders if maybe they're right… if maybe I don't have any magic talents and if maybe I should have listened to my aunt instead of becoming a witch. I-if… if maybe I should just give up."

I start tearing up a bit at the admission. It's not something that's just surged in my mind recently after all; no, this is something I've been worrying about ever since I realized magic wasn't as easy as it seemed; that if I wanted to learn it, it would all be by my own effort, and I've never fully convinced myself that I'll ever be good enough.

Maybe I'm not. Probably. Most likely. Who am I kidding? I'm completely useless! I-I…

My train of thought is suddenly interrupted when I feel a gentle hand patting my head, and I look up to find Croix looking at me with an expression softer than I could have ever hoped to see on her usually serious face. She's _smiling_ at me. And her eyes are just… _compassionate_. Caring. I can't even describe them. It just takes my breath away for a moment.

"Don't give up." She finally speaks. "Believing in your heart, that is your true magic."

"A-ah… what?" I dumbly answer, unable to understand what's happening.

"Believe in your heart. In who you are and who you want to become." She explains, the same way she usually explains complicated magical concepts; amused that I don't quite get it, but with infinite patience. "Believe in your dreams, and in your capacity to accomplish them. At least, that's what I do." She shrugs. "After all, magic is all about believing."

"Believe in my heart?" I parrot, still trying to make sense of her words.

"Sounds cheesy, I know, but if I tried to explain it in more fancy terms you wouldn't understand." Croix laughs, finally letting her hand drop from my head.

"N-no, it's not cheesy!" I assure her. "I… I think it's beautiful."

"Really?" She rubs the back of her neck in embarrassment as she looks to the side. "'Cause I kinda just pulled it out of my…" She coughs, cutting herself off. "Uh… anyways."

"Believe…" I mumble to myself, still mulling over Croix's words. Belief is such a strong thing. Belief is thinking something is real without having any concrete proof, like believing a broom will rise up in the air when you chant some funny words. But what's most beautiful about belief is that, even if what you believe isn't true yet, you can make it come true if you just believe in it strong enough.

And I believe I can become a witch. I believe I can befriend my roommates. I believe I can win the broom race, and I will! Even if the whole world tells me I'm delusional, I will do it, and I will prove how wrong they are!

"Croix, you're a genius!" I exclaim, getting up from my seat in one swift jump.

"Of course I am." She scoffs, rolling her eyes.

"You're right; I won't give up! I will convince my roommates now, come on, you gotta help me!"

I quickly take my friend's hand and start pulling her towards the dorms, but she remains rooted to the spot, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Wait, Chariot! Slow down, shouldn't we make a plan or something? How are you going to convince them?" She says, struggling to keep her ground as I try to get her to move nonetheless. "You can't just tell them that believing is your magic! That sounds like a generic catchphrase!"

"We'll think of something." I pull her hand impatiently. "Come on, let's go find them!"

"There's no need." I stop trying to get my friend to move when we suddenly hear a voice coming from behind one of the columns that are around the courtyard. From it, my two roommates step in sight, revealing themselves to us. "We heard everything." The one who spoke was Amelia, and she's looking at me with shame and regret clear on her face. The same could be said about Karen, except she's avoiding directly looking at me at all costs.

"You spied on us?" Croix practically snarls.

"We didn't mean to." Amelia quickly says defensively. "We just… we were looking for Chariot, but when we found her she was talking to you, and we kinda overheard the whole thing. Sorry."

"Why were you looking for me?" I can't help sounding distrustful, after all they've never been especially nice to me. Still, Amelia's expression falls a little at the tone of voice I used and I feel a little bad about it.

"Karen?" Amelia nudges her, giving her an encouraging smile, at which my grumpiest roommate answers with a small frown before stepping towards me and wrapping her arms around herself while still avoiding eye contact, clearly showing she's nervous.

"I'm… sorry." She says as if the words taste bitter in her mouth. "What I said earlier… it wasn't right. I shouldn't have treated you like that even if you _are_ the biggest dunce in the academy."

"Hey!" I exclaim indignantly. Was that supposed to be an apology?

"So, yeah." She shrugs, not at all moved by my outburst. "I'll try to be nicer from now on."

"And?" Amelia prompts, nudging her with her elbow.

"And…" Karen sighs. "I will participate in that stupid race."

"We both will." The blonde reiterates, shooting me a kind smile.

I blink. Then I blink again, not believing what I'm hearing. They will participate. In the race. With me. Just like that. No begging or getting on my knees involved. I'm not dreaming right? I pinch my arm just to make sure, and soon enough find myself wincing in pain. Yep, it's not a dream.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! You're the best!" I yell as I pretty much throw myself at them, squeezing them in a tight hug that definitely catches them by surprise, because neither of them return it and instead just complain they can't breathe. But I honestly don't care. I'm too happy!

"Whoa there, Chariot. You're going to kill your teammates and then you won't be able to compete." Croix's teasing voice interrupts me, reminding me that my friend is also there. So, with a mischievous smile I break the hug and turn around to regard her.

"Don't be jealous Croix, there's also some for you." And with that, I go and wrap my arms around her, giving her my undivided attention.

"A-Ah… I-I… Chariot! You know I don't like hugs!" She protests, trying to push me off by the shoulders. "And I wasn't jealous." She ads as an afterthought, which makes me giggle against her neck.

"Sure thing." I reply in a teasing tone.

"You are _so_ gonna pay for this."

"I know."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay. Life's been crazy lately! And this chapter was way too long, but I have to say I'm satisfied about how it turned out in the end. As always, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed and please leave a review, favorite or follow if you want to know if Chariot wins the race soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	12. Training and arguing

**Chapter 12: Training and arguing.**

"I can't believe Croix was the one who invented your catchphrase!" Akko exclaimed, almost falling from her broom as she turned around to face her professor.

"Careful, Akko." Ursula chastised her as she tried to steady her with her arms. "You need to keep your concentration if you don't want us to fall."

"Right, right." She answered dismissively as she turned around and kept trying to see what was inside one of the archive's shelves.

Turns out, after Ursula had helped her figure out what to do with Vajarois, she had realized just how unorganized the shelves of the secret archive really were, and had suggested that they categorize them or something... Which was largely ignored by the other teachers. Until she brought it up once again and they decided to leave that task in her hands just to get her to stop talking about it. And Akko's, since she was now helping her.

And thank the nine that was the case! As strong as Chariot's was, she wasn't sure she would have been able to climb up and down the stairs in order to categorize and sort all the upper shelves without any help. But now she didn't have to since she had Akko to fly her broom for her. Plus, it would help her student learn something about control and concentration, two very important aspects of flying.

"So… Croix is really a softie on the inside, huh?" Akko mused, still trying to practically get her head inside the hole to see if there was something there, because she definitely wasn't seeing a thing.

"She is." Chariot smiled fondly. "But never remind her that I used her words as a catchphrase or else she'll probably try to kill me once again." She joked.

"I'll keep that in mind." Akko smiled back at her professor before continuing with her task. Honestly though, she couldn't quite concentrate. To think Shiny Chariot's famous catchphrase, the one thing that had inspired her thought her life, the mantra she had followed during her toughest times, wasn't invented by her idol, but by… Croix?

Sure, she had admired her for a while, but for different reasons than why she admired Chariot. Croix didn't exactly seem the type to say meaningful heartfelt phrases. She was more the type of saying cool-sounding stuff that Akko didn't really understand. That or causing explosions.

But anyways, back to what was important…

"So, you did win the race after that, right?" Akko asked.

"Yes." Chariot answered. "But as you can already imagine, it wasn't easy. It required lots and lots of effort and training, and teamwork."

"How did you even get along with Amelia and Karen?" Akko asked, scrunching her nose. "They sound like awful people."

"They weren't that bad." Chariot giggled, though she knew her younger self would have probably disagreed with her. "And they did do their best at the end." She paused, as she let the memories fill her mind once again. "But I suppose I should tell you everything so you can better understand my relationship with them."

"Oh, yes, please sensei!" Akko agreed excitedly.

"Alright… so, as I already told you, my teammates agreed to participate in the race, and after signing up for the event, we spent hours and hours practicing every day."

* * *

"Hurry up! Amelia! Karen, come on, pick up the pace!" I yell at my teammates as I look back and see them still a few meters behind me, practically dragging their feet on the ground and still rubbing sleep off their eyes.

"Careful Chariot, we can still resign." Karen grumbles.

"I still don't understand why we have to start practice so early in the morning." Amelia complains for the tenth time since I woke them up to practice. The sun is barely coming up on the horizon, and the few rays of light it shines over Luna Nova's field are almost not enough to illuminate the flying course.

"Because after classes I have to go help Croix." I roll my eyes, mounting my broom. "We've been over this already."

"Whatever, let's just get this over with." Karen says grumpily as she arrives next to me.

"Alright, so… let's fly?" I ask, eager to start our training.

"We first have to make a plan, Chariot." Karen interrupts me.

"But…"

"I agree." Amelia answers before I can protest. "If we want a chance of winning we can't just fly however we want."

"Fine." I relent, pouting, since I know that I can go around fighting with my teammates if I want us to work as an actual team. "What do you have in mind?"

"I think Amelia should go first."

"I think Chariot should go first."

Both of them speak at the same time, only to keep staring at each other in disbelief as they process the other's suggestion.

"Chariot?" Karen scoffs. "Really?"

"She can be very clumsy." Amelia retorts. "If she's first she'll have the relay baton at the beginning, which will give her less opportunities to drop it. Plus, she's fast, which will give us a head start in the next two phases."

"But it's better if you start, since you are the slowest and speed doesn't really matter in the first round." Karen argues. "Chariot would be second, and I'd finish in third, since I'm most likely to win."

"But I'm the fastest!" I protest. "Following your logic shouldn't I be in last?"

"I'm actually faster than you." Karen answers with a smug smile.

"No you're not!" I exclaim, absolutely offended she's even suggesting she's better than me on this.

"Why don't we race?" Amelia suggests. "Then we'll see who is the fastest, and will also be able to know each other's flying styles better. _Then_ we can decide the order."

"Good idea!" I instantly agree, glad to finally have an opportunity to impress my roommates.

"I think it's a waste of time, but whatever." Karen reluctantly agrees, mounting her broom. "First one to reach the New Moon tower and come back?"

"Sure."

"Sounds reasonable." Amelia also agrees, getting on her broom too.

"At the count of three!" I say, positioning myself between my two roommates. "One, two… Three!"

"Tya Freire!" The three of us chant the spell at the same time, instantly getting off the ground as fast as we can go.

Amelia tries to keep up with us for a while, but her technique isn't perfect as she keeps her body mostly perpendicular to the broom, which only slows her down. And that combined with her not being as naturally fast on the broom as Karen or me quickly makes her end up several meters behind us, as expected.

Karen, on the other hand, is proving to be quite the annoyance actually. It's a good thing she's in my team, 'cause she's almost as fast as me. Almost. So far she's consistently been about a head behind me, but I really don't like the way she accelerates from time to time, trying to pass me, no doubt. Well, not happening!

There's no way I'll let Karen win! She can do whatever she wants, but one way or another, I'm going to prove to her that there actually exists something I'm better at than her!

And… I probably should have paid more attention to where I was going than to my desire to win. Great.

In just a moment of distraction Karen managed to speed past me and positioned herself in such a way I'm unable to push past her without colliding. And of course she's able to react quickly when I try to alter my course slightly in order to get in first place again. Great. Damn. What am I going to do?!

Okay, Chariot, calm down. Think. We're not even at the New Moon tower yet. I can still win this race! I just need to… to ignore this unpleasant feeling at the pit of my stomach that appears every time I think about losing and proving Karen right. And I have to stop sweating! My grip on my broom is getting slippery, which obviously isn't good.

Now… the New Moon tower is fast approaching. If I want a chance at winning I have to do something _now_. But what?

Well, whatever, it's not like I ever plan anything anyways.

I quickly jump up on my broom, landing with my soles at the wooden handle. I bet anyone else would have lost their equilibrium and fell, but honestly? I've done this more times than I could count, so it's like a second nature to me.

Once in this unconventional flying position, I take two quick steps to get at the very edge of the broom and, as soon as I reach it, I jump over Karen, making her stop dead in her tracks when she realizes what's happening. I land on the white stones of the tower, looking down directly at my teammate, and I even have time to wink at her before kicking the wall with all the strength I have and landing on my broom (this time in a proper sitting position), which I had directed to turn around.

It was a risky manoeuver, I'll admit that. It left my heart pumping and my head high on adrenaline, but now I'm ahead of Karen for a few meters and flying at top speed, so there's no way she'll ever catch up with me.

I pass Amelia on the way back to the field and I even have time to slow down slightly and give her a thumbs up before speeding past her and towards the goal.

Of course, I get first place, and Karen arrives shortly after me. I can't help jumping in happiness as I scream and laugh! I did it. I proved those two mean girls that I can be good at something! They'll have to respect me now that I kicked their asses.

"I won! I won!" I scream, pretty much rubbing my victory on Karen.

"Yeah, yeah. Very impressive." She scoffs before pulling the broom right off my hands and tossing it to the ground, effectively stopping my little celebration, as I just stare at her in cautious anticipation of what she'll do next. "But that was _way_ too risky! If you do that during the race you'll risk losing everything!" She starts chastising me, as expected, and I just roll my eyes.

"Oh, come on! There's no way I could have fallen." I argue. "I'm just _that_ good at flying."

"Actually, I think Karen is right." Amelia says as she lands next to me, having unsurprisingly come last. "Not only did you risk losing the race, but you also could have injured yourself _and_ Karen with the stunt you pulled."

"But I…!"

"Chariot." Amelia's firm voice cuts me off before I can keep on protesting. "I understand that you didn't mean for anything bad to happen, and that you were confident in your abilities, which I have to say were really impressive." I have to consciously suppress a smile at her praise, but I can tell I'm doing a very bad job when Karen rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. " _However_ …" Amelia continues, much more sternly this time. "You can't keep being so reckless if you really want to participate on the race. Your speed alone should be enough to win."

"But girls, my tricks work! They do not only help me gaining speed, but they're also something the others doesn't expect, which in turn distracts and confuses them."

"Yes, and I understand that that's important, but you know what else is? Getting to the goal on one piece _and_ without damaging the baton." Amelia counters.

"I can be careful…" I argue weakly.

"Yes, you can. If you follow the rules and stop trying to be such a show-off." Karen remarks, speaking for the first time since she's started licking her wounded ego.

"Karen…"

"Look." She cuts me off harshly. "You did well today, and I will give you the benefit of the doubt for that."

The benefit of the doubt? I won! Come on Karen, stop being such a sore loser!

"You will finish the race, since you were the fastest. But you have to be prudent and stop doing your reckless tricks alright?"

"But…"

"Chariot." Amelia cuts off my protests. I quickly alternate my gaze between my two teammates and see the clear sternness on their eyes. They aren't going to relent on this, are they? What a pair of party poppers! But okay, whatever. I guess teamwork is all about making compromises, huh?

"Fine, fine. I promise." I relent reluctantly.

"Good." Amelia gives me the first kind smile in like… forever. "I think we should start practice now. Perhaps start with something simple, like passing the baton?" She then turns to ask Karen, who (for some stupid reason) Amelia seems to have appointed as the de-facto leader of our team, and since Karen seems happy to oblige, I guess I can't argue against the two.

"Yes, that would be the most adequate course of action." Karen agrees. "Better get basics down pat before working on complicated things like speed and tactics."

"Yeah… but about the speed, do you think maybe you could…?"

"Teach you how to be faster? Sure." The brown-haired girl answers, giving Amelia a hesitant smile. "Would practicing after classes be alright with you?" Her question is answer with a firm nod on the blonde's part and then they grab their brooms and go get the baton so that we can start practicing.

Honestly, I'm a little offended Amelia didn't ask me, since I was the fastest, but hey! At least maybe if they spent some time together they'll learn to like each other… And maybe then bond over their dislike on me. Great.

* * *

So we practice passing the baton a few times and, honestly? It's pretty boring. With Karen it's just flying at normal speed and waiting for her to catch up with me and give me the damn thing, but with Amelia it's just… _waiting_. She's too slow! Even after I give her a few tips to augment her speed and Karen does the same, when it's her turn to pass the baton to me I have to slow down way too much for my liking, and I don't have to be a genius to know that just won't work during the race.

"Why not throw it though?" I pretty much whine after a while.

"What?" Karen glares at me like I just said something stupid.

"It's not against the rules; believe me, I have them memorized after you made me read them like ten times yesterday."

"But why would we throw it?" Amelia asks.

"Because then the person receiving it can just speed up and grab it instead of slowing down and waiting for the other person to catch up!" I explain, proud of my bright idea.

"The baton can't be lost or damaged, or else we'll lose the race." Karen answers matter-of-factly. "I'm not willing to take that risk."

"Won't you even give it a try?"

"Chariot…"

"Just look, okay?" I cut her off, taking the baton from her hands before throwing it as far away as I can while, at the same time, taking off on my broom after it. The baton is light enough, so I'm able to throw it pretty far… perhaps a little too far, because I'm not really able to catch up on my broom. It's already descending at high velocity in the air a few meters away from me, and as I extend my arm to grab it, I feel it brushing my fingers but ultimately I'm not able to catch it. So I do the only logical thing; I drop down from my broom, catching the wooden handle with my right hand to prevent me from falling to my doom, and extend my left hand to grab the baton.

And it works! I'm left hanging from my fingertips, and with my head reeling and my heart practically bursting out of my chest, but I did it! I caught it!

I get back up on my broom with a jump and fly down to meet my teammates, who are waiting for me at the fields, already having gotten off their brooms.

"Whohoo!" I cheer. "I did it! Did you see that? I…"

"Almost got yourself killed?" Karen cuts me off, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on! Is it too much to ask for a little bit of praise when I deserve it?" I complain.

"I thought you agreed not to pull off any more of your tricks." Amelia retorts, also upset by what I just did.

"It wasn't a trick! It was a…" I trail off, unable to defend myself properly when what I just did could really only be interpreted as a trick; a way to show off. To gain speed. To be reckless. "Okay fine, it _was_ a trick, but it would work."

"Only if you want to spend a week on the hospital when you fail." Amelia retorts with an unamused tone.

"What's wrong with doing things unconventionally?" I protest. "The conventional way is too boring and I think it could use a little bit of spice."

"I thought we had an agreement." Karen pretty much snarls. "We participate in this stupid race with you, and you don't do stupid and reckless things that could ruin it all. Is that too hard for you to understand?"

"Won't you at least consider it?" I try, but I'm met by two equally unrelenting glares.

"You are both so mean to me." I complain, pouting. "But _fine_ , whatever, forget I said anything."

And so, we continue practicing. And it's not nearly as fun as I expected. And my teammates continue to hate me, even if they start to warm up to each other a bit. But I can't really complain, can I? At least we're going to participate in the race, and we're going to win. And when I win no one will dare mock me anymore! They'll see I'm not just the school dunce. I'm sure.

* * *

 **A/N: Yep, it's been way too long since I updated this story, and I'm so sorry about that. Life just gets in the way, you know? But anyways, I hope you liked this chapter, and please leave a review if you did. Who you think will win the race next chapter? I mean, obviously Chariot, but you know... I'll just shut up now.**

 **Thanks for reading and see you (hopefully) soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	13. Flying is freedom

**A/N: So... this isn't chapter 13, sorry. I was actually about to write it, but then this idea just popped into my head and as the Charoix shipper I am, I just couldn't resist XD. It's basically a (not so) little bonus chapter in whihc we see some bonding between our favorite girls, though Chariot didn't tell Akko about it. I hope you like it :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 12.5: Flying is freedom.**

"Chariot, what are you doing? I thought we'd see each other at six!" I look down upon hearing Croix's voice to effectively find my friend standing in the middle of the sports field, looking up at me with furrowed brows. Startled, I look at the sun and see it's lower on the horizon than I expected it to be and realize I must have lost track of time while practicing flying.

"Oh! I'm sorry Croix!" I exclaim, flying down towards the ground at top speed and barely managing to stop in time before coming crashing into the ground. It was a scary maneuver before, but I have it nailed now.

"Don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack." Croix protests, still glaring at me.

"Hm? So, you _do_ care about me?" I tease, smiling widely as I hover on my broom before dangling myself upside down. Thankfully I practiced this so I'm able to keep myself from falling and my face is now at Croix's eye level.

"If you died I'd have to get another slave." She rolls her eyes, in classic Croix fashion, but by her blush I know I actually am onto something now. However, I don't think I fancy an angry Croix, so I decide to just leave it at that.

"So, anyways… any luck deciphering what went wrong last time?" I ask, returning to a normal sitting position on my broom.

"No…" She sighs. "I think you did everything well, but… I just don't get why the potion turned that color! Maybe my thermometer isn't working correctly."

"And you still want to give it another try?" I raise an eyebrow. "The past two attempts were supposedly successful, but the potion still didn't work for some reason."

"I mostly wanted to ask your opinion on what you think went wrong. You were the one making the potion, after all." Croix answers with a defeated expression. Come to think of it, the bags under her eyes seem even darker than normal, and her skin paler. Has she been sleeping lately? Or even eating? Somehow I doubt it. She can be pretty careless about her own physical state when she's obsessed with something. And that can't be good! I need to get her to relax. Actually, I could use a break too.

"Honestly Croix, I don't have any idea what happened last time." I answer honestly. "But I'm pretty sure if we try again today we'll get the same result." I sigh. "We're both tired, and stressed, and… I think we should just have fun today!" I finish with a bright smile, hoping to convince her.

" _Fun?_ " She makes a face, like I just said a bad word. Typical of Croix!

"Yep! Just you and me, what do you say? Hey! I can show you some tricks with the broom!" I light up at my own suggestion. I haven't had time to do much except speed practice these past few days, thanks to Karen and Amelia hounding me to stick to safe maneuvers. And I really think it'll be a good way for Croix to unwind. Ha! sometimes I can be so clever.

"I don't know, Chariot." She looks to the side hesitantly. "It's almost curfew…"

"Yeah, in _two hours_." I roll my eyes, but then a mischievous smile appears on my face as I think of something that will surely convince her. "But I understand if you're scared. After all, a certain level of _skill_ is required to perform these maneuvers."

"Are you insinuating you're better at flying than me?" She raises an eyebrow, taking the bait. "I'll have you know, I won the broom relay last year!"

"Yeah, but only because I wasn't there." I smirk, watching as a challenging expression appears on her face and determination burns brightly in her eyes.

"I'm _so_ gonna make you eat your words!" And with that, she storms off towards the small nearby cabin where the brooms are kept, no doubt gong to retrieve her own. But I just laugh, happy to confirm I know Croix so well I can now get her to take some free time without her even noticing what I'm doing. Oh, Croix! You can be so competitive sometimes!

Soon enough she returns, broom in hand, getting in position as soon as she sets foot on the field and quickly flying towards me, flying higher so she can look down at me as usual. I quickly fly up to meet her and let out a giggle upon seeing how serious and determined she looks.

"Ready to fall flat on your butt?" I challenge once more to keep her motivated.

"Please, if _you_ can do those tricks, I'm sure I'll be an expert in just a couple of minutes." She retorts, practically radiating confidence.

"Sure, it would be pretty embarrassing otherwise, don't you think?" I laugh, knowing there's no way she's anywhere near my skill level. "But let's start with something simple, alright? Let's see how well you do when we practice barrel rolls!"

I then start showing Croix some of my best tricks, but honestly? I didn't expect her to be so good at this! It's almost discouraging, to be honest. Sure, she doesn't always get them on the first try, but she's pretty damn close. Her technique isn't as good as mine, but it's not half bad considering it's her first time. Damn! What do I do now?

"Hey, Chariot, I thought you said you were going to show me some crazy maneuvers that required a lot of skill! This is a field trip for me." She mocks me, wearing that odious smirk on her face that I hate so much. But that's okay. I guess it's time to up my game.

"I just didn't want you to hurt yourself on the first five minutes." I lie, hoping to appear more confident than I feel. "That was the warmup, but now it's time for the fun stuff!"

With that I take off at max speed, ready to do my most dramatic move. It's second nature for me at this point, so I think nothing about it as I jump up from my broom and land on it with the soles of my feet, taking an outright position, if slightly crouched to reduce wind resistance and avoid falling down because of it.

"Look!" I yell at Croix, since this isn't even half of what I had planned.

Once I feel steady enough, I focus on my legs so I can make sure I don't screw this up. Then, as soon as I'm certain I remember what to do, I jump up once again and do a somersault, redirecting the broom to catch me slightly slower. Thankfully I manage to land on my two feet, though I do stumble a little, almost falling from it.

When that's done and my heart has stopped beating a thousand miles a minute, I descend next to where Croix still is, looking at me with a mixture of amazement and surprise, as her jaw almost hits the ground below.

"Not bad, huh?" I smirk, feeling a very pleasant emotion raising on my chest when I notice her dumbfounded expression. Could it be pride?

"A-ah… y-you…" She opens and closes her mouth like a fish out of water, and I chuckle at the sight, which finally breaks her out of her trance, and she starts yelling at me. "Sit down, you idiot! You almost gave me a heart attack!" I just laugh, however, because I know she's not actually mad at me; mostly worried.

"Relax, I do this all the time!" I wave off her concerns.

"That's _way_ worse than if this was the first time!" She protests.

"You're such a worrywart." I scoff. "I thought you said my tricks were too easy for you, but now this one is suddenly too dangerous?"

"It freaking is, Chariot! Do you know how many meters above the ground we are?!"

"A lot?" I answer, giggling.

"And you are just jumping off your freaking broom and riding it while _standing_."

"Yeah." I shrug. "Are you going to do it too, or not?"

"Hell no! I want to live a long life, thank you very much." Her wide eyes and pale face as she looks down to the ground lets me know just how scared she's about this, so I decide to go easy on her for now.

"Okay, maybe without jumping. Just standing on the broom." I say with a comforting smile. "You can do that, right?"

"I guess?" She answers hesitantly, making a grimace.

"Come on." I say, smiling as reassuringly as I possibly can and extending my hand towards her. "I'll catch you if you fall."

"Great." She sighs. "Please destroy everything in my lab after I die." Still, despite her apparently skeptical attitude at my life-saving skills, she takes my hand and carefully starts to lower her broom as she positions first her knees and then her feet on the wooden handle. Despite how confident she usually appears; she's trembling like a jelly and her face is rather pale. Her hand is also getting kinda sweaty. But she has a look of determination on her face and clearly she doesn't want to admit she can't do something I'm very good at.

Seeing this part of Croix is nice. It makes her a little more human for me.

Suddenly, her feet slip and she almost ends up falling, but I'm fast enough to grab her waist and hold her in place. At the same time, she ends up gripping my hand and elbow like her life depends on it… and it quite literally does.

"You okay?" I ask, since I feel her trembling even more, and she has now closed her eyes. However, she just nods. "Alright, focus on your feet. They need to be perfectly balanced if you don't want to fall."

"This would be easier if brooms weren't thin sticks." She complains, visibly tensing up as a breeze passes by and moves our brooms slightly, at which I tighten my grip on her to give her a sense of security.

"What would you prefer? A chair?" I chuckle, trying to get her to think on something else.

"A chair, a table… anything flat and wide would be better right now." She says through clenched teeth, still tense as can be, but at least her trembling has diminished.

"That's not very witch-like, is it?" I tease.

"Nor is it flying while _standing_." She shots back, finally opening her eyes and looking directly into mine. And in that moment, I realize just how _close_ we are. I can make out so many details about her that I'd never noticed before! Like, wow! Her eyelashes are so long! They're actually pretty. And her eyes are so green! But they also have some blue on them, so they're actually teal. And also…

Before I can continue contemplating… uh, I mean… _observing_ my friend, she hastily leans back and lets go of my elbow, choosing to keep contact only with our hands instead, and looks to the side, blushing brightly since she's probably uncomfortable with the level of physical contact we were having.

"Sorry." I say almost automatically.

"No. It was my fault." She quickly answers, letting her gaze drop to her feet. "Now… How did you say you do this again?"

"Oh! You fly!" I exclaim. "Just as if you were sitting, but be careful not to lose your balance."

"Okay…" She takes a deep breath and tightens her grip on my hands, probably already regretting her decision.

"Come on, just follow my lead." I say cheerfully, hoping to covey my enthusiasm, and then I start moving my broom forward slowly, waiting for Croix to do the same. Her grip on my hands becomes even tighter, if possible, to the point of being painful, but I don't complain because she looks like she's getting paler by the second and her brows are scrunching too much.

"Croix. It's just like normal flying, really." I assure her. "Stop looking down like you're scared of falling."

"I'm not scared." She says almost too quickly.

"Right." I deadpan. "Well, in that case, I suppose I can leave you on your own." I make the motion to let go of her, but she instantly panics and pulls me a little closer.

"No!" She shouts, then blushing in embarrassment when she realizes she pretty much just admitted she's scared. "Fine, whatever." She looks to the side. "So I'm a little bit scared. Doesn't mean I can't do this."

"I never said you couldn't." I smile. "But you have to relax and actually try moving your broom, okay? I'll be here the whole time, I promise."

For a second it looks like she's going to say something sarcastic and then keep complaining about how reckless I am. But then her eyes lock with mine and I give her the best reassuring face I can muster, hoping to tell her without words that she can trust me. Then she closes her mouth, pouts and looks to the side, taking a deep breath as she consciously starts relaxing her tense muscles.

"Ready?" I ask.

"As I'll ever be." She mutters, still wearing a somewhat grumpy expression. But worry not, my dear friend! We'll turn that pout upside down in a second!

"Good. We'll start slow, okay?" After receiving a hesitant nod from Croix, I order my broom to start moving once more and she does the same.

We're going _way_ too slow for my taste, but I know this is what Croix needs to start building up some confidence, so I don't try to push her to go faster at first. But after flying like this for a few minutes, just going in a straight line at a slow speed, I feel Croix's grip on my hands loosen up a little. I figure its time to pick up the pace, and my friend quickly catches up with me.

"Let's try some circles now, okay?" I suggest, once I sense she's relaxed enough to try something new.

"Y-yeah." She answers, still sounding a bit nervous, but her posture speaks volumes of how much more relaxed she's now compared to before. Her shoulders aren't so tense now, and her back isn't as stiff.

So, we try flying circles for a few more minutes before picking up the speed, now flying at the standard velocity according to safety rules. It's still too slow for me, but I guess it's enough for someone who isn't used to flying like this.

"Can you fly on your own now?" I ask, deviating my gaze to our joined hands. Truth to be told, I don't want to let go yet. For safety reasons, that is. But if I wanna show her how exhilarating flying like this can feel, I have to let her go free.

"I can try." She answers hesitantly, also looking at our hands.

"Alright. I'm going to let go now." I warn her, and she nods, getting ready by planting her feet a bit firmer on the broom's handle. "One, two… three."

As soon as I let go of her hands her posture wagers as she loses her equilibrium. However, when I'm about to lunge forward to grab her again, she manages to steady herself by making her posture wider and opening her arms to balance herself. Once I'm sure she's steady enough, I back up a bit, giving her more space.

"You good?" I ask.

"Y-yeah." She nods, visibly sweating. "But I guess it'll take me a while to get the hang of it."

"I'm right here, don't worry." I assure her and she nods again, her eyes fixed on her feet as she starts moving once more; this time without me grabbing her.

At first she's cautious and clumsy. And very slow, but that was to be expected. Her legs keep trembling, and her breath is ragged, but I figure that's because she's probably worrying too much and overthinking everything. So I start flying around her, laughing and cheering in hopes to grab her attention and get her to just fly using her instincts. At first it doesn't work, and it even looks like she's doing a conscious effort to ignore me (rude!), but after making a few summersaults again and laughing loudly, I manage to make her eyes follow me instead of her shoes.

"Can you stop that? It's distracting!" She pouts, but apparently my plan is working, since soon she's stopped trembling as all her concentration is centered on me.

"Yeah? Well, then I guess you'll just have to deal with it." I wink. "Or, you know, make me stop. But then again, you'd have to catch me for that, and right now you're being too much of a slug."

"Why am I even friends with you?" She grumbles.

"Because you don't have a choice." I blow her a raspberry and then fly away, laughing. Thankfully though, my little teasing worked and now she's going a little faster, no doubt trying to catch up with me and make me eat my words. Her legs are still a bit wobbly, but now she seems much surer of herself and she soon is going at an acceptable speed. Nowhere near mine though, so I decide to slow down and fly at her side.

"Neat, huh?" I say.

"Sure. More so when you're doing your best to annoy me." She rolls her eyes, but a smile actually manages to appear on her face, which makes me smile as well.

"Did it work?" I ask cheekily.

"More than I would've expected." She laughs. "But now that I'm actually flying in this strange way you invented… care to go for a race? I can't wait to make you eat my dust."

"Last one to get to the New Moon tower is a fried chicken!" I shout as I take off, laughing loudly after seeing Croix's dumbfounded and confused face.

"Hey, wait a minute! Come back, you little cheater! I'm _so_ making you clean up my lab after this!"

But despite her angry words, she actually has a smile on her face, and she seems a lot less tense than before. She's still as slow as a slug, at least while flying like this, but she seems happier, less serious. Like an actual teenager. I enjoy seeing this side of her, and I hope I can see it more often. She looks… cute like this; smiley, sweaty, flustered and with her hair all messy. Granted, she'd probably kill me if I ever said that out loud.

Oh, well! Would you look at that? I'm already at the New Moon tower! There's no way Croix can win now, I'll just have to…

Wait.

My broom doesn't move. Why doesn't it move? Come on! I'm like a meter away from victory! What's going on?

Before I can properly decipher what's happening, Croix speeds past me (while, standing on her broom, which is actually kind of impressive) and then calmly touches the tower before turning around and looking down at me from her position a few meters above, while giving me one of her odious smirks and crossing her arms over her chest. She actually looks kinda intimidating… in a good way. Wait. Is there actually a good way?

"You cheat, I cheat." She says simply before pulling out her wand and waving it, releasing the spell and allowing me to cover the last bit of distance and touch the white stones of the tower.

"Croix!" I pout. "You're so mean! We were just having fun!"

"Oh, I'm having fun, alright." She laughs. "Now, come on, let's go inside before Finnelan catches us out here during curfew."

"Last one is a fried egg!" I shout, already speeding through the fields and towards the main building of Luna Nova.

"Oh, for fucks sake!" I hear her curse before taking off after me. "You never learn, do you?"

"I think I do!" I reply as I take off my wand and move it, creating a fog illusion that will hopefully confuse Croix and keep her from catching up with me before I make it to the school.

Gosh, it's so much fun messing with her! I'm sure this will have grave consequences for me tomorrow, but hey, I'll let future Chariot worry about that, and for now I'll just enjoy these rare bonding moments we have.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you liked this little idea, or favorite/follow if you haven't. See you soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	14. I'm a real witch

**Chapter 13: I'm a real witch!**

It was around midday when the race would finally begin. The sun was high in the sky and the wind was blowing fast, ruffling the leaves off the trees, so the climate and lighting were perfect for flying.

My team and I have been practicing daily for two weeks; we have the course memorized and the strategy perfected. And yet… I can't help feeling nervous. I don't know why. I've never doubted that we're going to win! All this time I thought it would be a piece of cake! So why? Why now? Why is my stomach churning? Why are my palms sweating? Why am I pretty much paralyzed just watching the other competitors cleaning their brooms and taking their positions?

Maybe I finally realized just what we signed up for; we are going to compete against second and third years. We're up against the fastest witches in the school. If we win it'll be a great feat, sure. I'll finally gain some recognition, not only from my classmates, but from the teachers too. Maybe my teammates will also start respecting me a bit. But if we lose… gosh. I don't even want to think about what'll happen if we lose!

Everyone will say: "Well, duh! It's Chariot! There's no way she could have ever won the race! Honestly, she's so stupid and pathetic she shouldn't even be allowed in Luna Nova." Or something amongst those lines. Worse! Maybe they won't even say anything! Why bother commenting on the obvious result that was apparent to everyone but naïve Chariot du Nord? And my teammates will be mad because despite their hard work losing would just throw it all down the drain. As always. And what will Croix think?! I mean, she won the race last year! And it probably took her no effort at all. If I lose, she'll think I'm pathetic and will probably be embarrassed to be seen near me.

Okay. I'm starting to panic. I need to calm down. Breathe, Chariot! In, and out. In and…

"Hey, Chariot!" I'm started out of my (poor) attempt to relax by an arm being rudely thrown around my shoulders and my name being shouted in my ear. Of course, when I glare at the culprit I find it's none other than my mischievous friend Enid. "How you doing? Did you practice at all?" She smirks.

"Uhm. Enid. Hi." I say, still too worried about the race to actually pay much mind to her. "Actually, I kinda need to concentrate right now, so…"

"Don't be like that!" I jump out of my skin as I feel a finger digging into my ribs and turn to the right to see Anaid smiling at me teasingly. "We just want to see how you're doing. Did your teammates cause you trouble?"

"Ah…" I trail off as my gaze lands of Karen and Amelia, who are chatting happily to each other just a few meters away from us. They are smiling and laughing, looking so relaxed and carefree! I bet they are even telling jokes of which I can't be part of because they both get uncomfortable when I'm around. Even after all the training we've done these past few weeks they don't seem to like me very much… and yet they did get close to each other. Which kinda sucks. And it also hurts. A little.

"Oh, come on! Forget about those two." Enid says, no doubt noticing my lingering gaze. "What matters is that we have fun, right? This is a friendly race, and we'll be doing our best just so we can beat you."

"That's right!" Amelia agrees. "Since you insisted this would be a fair race, both of our teams have been practicing nonstop. I hope you did the same!"

"Yeah. Kinda." I shrug, suddenly regretting not having practiced even more hours than that.

"Good! I can't wait to beat you!" Enid says confidently. Maybe a little _too_ confidently, actually. And my stomach turns. What if she has good reasons to be confident? What if I'm not as good at flying as I thought I was?

"Huh. Anyways, I guess we'll leave you to get ready." Anaid says, squeezing briefly my shoulder as a show of reassurance.

"Yeah. See you at the finish line!" Enid exclaims as she lets go of me and joins her sister to go find their own teams. And once again, I'm left with my own worrying thoughts… thankfully not for long.

"Chariot. There you are!" I look up upon hearing my friend's voice and see her walking towards me. Instantly, a smile appears on my face and my tense body relaxes slightly, allowing me to breathe a little deeper.

"Croix." I say as greeting.

"You ready for the big race?" She asks.

"I-I guess." I shrug, feeling as the butterflies on my stomach start to multiply by ten at the mere thought of the competition.

"Don't worry, you'll do fine." She smiles. "I mean, you _have_ _to_ , I can't be friends with a loser."

"Croix!" I glare at her. Geez! She's really not helping.

"What? You know I'm just messing with you, right?" She chuckles as she ruffles my hair affectionately with her hand. But I just continue pouting. "Okay, sorry." She rolls her eyes, letting her hand drop. "I just came to wish you good luck. So… uhm… good luck." She finishes with an awkward smile.

"Thanks." I fake a smile, but really I'm too preoccupied about the race to actually appreciate her efforts in cheering me up. She undoubtedly notices though, because she sighs in response.

"Alright. I'll see you when you win." She says before walking away to take her place with the rest of the spectators. My eyes follow her until she disappears in the crowd, and I can't help but wonder, was she this nervous when she raced last year?… Oh, who am I kidding? She's Croix! I bet she didn't even consider the possibility of losing. She has way too much confidence in herself… and with good reason. Me? I'm just the dunce.

But not for long… Hopefully. If I don't screw this up somehow.

"Are you done moping around?" Karen's voice startles me out of my thoughts, making me jump a bit.

"Are you okay, Chariot? You look a little pale." Amelia, who is standing next to Karen, comments with a mildly concerned expression.

"I'm fine." I quickly reassure them. "Just… nervous."

"That's okay. We all are." Amelia smiles kindly at me.

"Now, before the race starts…" Karen says, cutting directly to the point. "Chariot, I just want to remind you that you are not to use your stupid tricks under _any_ circumstances. Are we clear?"

"Yeah. I know." I sigh upon seeing Karen's strict expression. She's been reminding me about this at every opportunity. How could I not remember?!

"Good. Now let's go take our positions." She says, turning to look at Amelia. "You'll start, so you stay here at the first platform. I'll take the second and Chariot, since you're the anchor, you'll be at the New Moon tower."

"Got it, boss." I roll my eyes at her before getting on my broom and taking off towards my destination, not even bothering to say another word to my mean teammates. Seriously, for all the hard work we've been doing together lately, we don't act like a real team yet. I mean, _they_ are getting along pretty nicely, I'll give them that, and Amelia is trying to be a bit more respectful towards me, but Karen? Ugh, _Karen_. She's just so stiff and grumpy, and I can't even make her open up like I did with Croix! Why does she have to be on my team? I'd literally prefer anyone else.

"Chariot, here!" I look down to see the platform where most of the girls from the other teams have already taken their positions, amongst which are Enid and Anaid, waving excitedly at me. How did they convince their teams they should be the anchors I have no idea, but I suppose their roommates are just nicer than mine. After all, they'd never complained about them, and they all seem to get along well enough during class. Figures! I had to be the only one with bad luck.

"Hey girls." I say as I take my position between the two twins.

"I thought Karen would be your anchor, but I'm glad it's you instead." Anaid says, smiling.

"Oh, believe me, she tried." I laugh, trying to appear confident. "But no one is faster than me."

"Right. No one is faster than the dunce of Luna Nova. How low are our standards now." Enid laments, obviously skeptical of my affirmation.

"Enid!" I pout. I don't need my friends doubting my abilities too.

"What? It's the truth and you know it." She shrugs, giving me a mocking smile.

"I will knock you off your broom as soon as the race starts!" I threaten.

"Wouldn't you have to catch me first though?" She laughs.

"Okay, that's it!" I growl and make the motion to get out my wand, but Anaid's hand stops me.

"You know we're just messing with you, right?" She giggles.

"Yeah, Chariot, chill out! You look so tense and serious!" Enid agrees. "We're just trying to have fun! And you're so damn funny whenever you get angry." She laughs.

"No, I'm not." I glare at her.

"Come on! We can practically see the stress radiating from your body." Her sister adds, placing an arm around my shoulders. "We just thought you could use a little fun right now."

"Well, it's not helping." I glare at her as I push her away, disentangling from her hug.

In that very moment, we hear a bang coming from the start line, meaning the race has now officially begun, though it will take a few minutes before our teammates reach us. My stomach then twists painfully at the thought of having so little time to mentally prepare myself.

"Huh. Looks like it's begun." Enid comments. "I'd feel better if we could see it though."

"Yeah…" I frown. "I hope Amelia is doing well."

* * *

After that it's a very stressful and nerve-wracking waiting game. Even Enid and Anaid quiet down! It probably doesn't take too much time though. A few minutes, perhaps. But it feels like way too long nonetheless! Not even my friends' occasional jokes are enough to distract me from my worries.

My grip on my broom is already painful, and my knuckles are turning white. But even when I do a conscious effort to relax, I end up squeezing my broom's handle like my life depended on it just a few seconds later. Gosh, Karen, please hurry up! I'll feel better once I'm up in the air.

"Hey, look!" One of the other girls shouts, pointing towards somewhere in the horizon. When I turn to see in that direction, I'm _finally_ able to distinguish the clear figures of about ten witches flying towards us.

"It's about time." Enid says, stretching her limbs in order to get ready. "I was about to fall asleep."

We all then quickly hurry to get on our brooms and take our positions, tensely waiting for our teammates to catch up, and they sure take their sweet time! Can't you go faster Karen?! I'm ready to show them all how flying really looks like!

Unfortunately for me, Karen seems to be slightly behind the rest. From this position I can't really tell for sure, but I think she's third, or fourth? It's probably because of Amelia's weak start, but I'm sure Karen and I can more than make up for it, right? Right. I won't lose this race. I just won't.

A girl to the far right of the platform takes off just then as she sees her partner approach at top speed, being the first one to arrive and pass the baton. Closely behind comes Mary, Enid's teammate, and then Amelia's teammate Sophie. Another two girls then pass, and I'm still stuck here because Karen is too damn far behind! Just how slow was Amelia's start anyways? It probably isn't helping that most of the competing teams are upperclassmen, who are way faster than us because they've already learned other techniques.

But still. I would have expected Karen to be faster than this, unless… she's not doing this on purpose, is she? Surely she doesn't want to lose… right? I mean, I don't think she hates me so much she's willing to lose just to spite me. Not after all the training we've done. Not after all the effort we put into this.

… Right?

"Chariot!" I hear her calling, and center my focus on her, even if she's still too far away for me to start flying. "Chariot, fly!"

What? She wants me to… but she'll never be able to catch up if I...

"Chariot! Now!" She commands, making a motion with her hand as if she wants to throw the baton towards me. But… but there's no way! She said no tricks, but… okay, whatever! She wants me to fly? I'll fly. If we lose because of my tricks I will wholeheartedly blame her.

"Catch!" She yells as soon as I'm up in the air and gaining speed. I turn to look at the trajectory of the baton and calculate where I'll be able to catch it, but… ugh! Why are these columns here anyways?

I speed up, hoping to reach the baton before it crashes on one of the columns, since if it's damaged we'll be disqualified. But… I don't know if I'll make it. The wind isn't exactly in my favor, and who knew Karen would be able to throw it so damn fast? I'm almost willing to bet she used magic.

Come on, come on! Faster, faster! I. Have. To. Go. Faster!

I reach a point where I have to close my eyes because of the wind hitting my face, but I manage to keep one of them just barely open, enough to be able to see the baton about to touch the top of the column.

I won't be able to reach it before it hits it. And I won't be able to slow down in time to avoid crashing into the hard rocks. My only option now is to deviate to either side and abandon the baton. To lose.

Well, now that's not really an option, is it?

I pick up the speed as I jump up and land with my feet on the broom's handle, only to jump a second later, catch the baton in midair and land then at the top of the column… but my momentum carries me forward, and I stumble a couple of steps, dangling at the edge for a moment before I'm able to redirect my broom so it flies around the column and catches me on the other side, just before the momentum wins over and I fall, being barely able to grab my broom in time.

And then I'm back at the race. My heart is pumping hard, my veins are tingling with adrenaline, and my body trembling in excitement, but a bright smile is firmly on my face. Finally! Some much needed action. This is what I wanted! This is what I'm good at. I'm a real witch, and I'll prove it!

Now, let's see… in front of me there's one, two, three… only three people? Just how many did I pass while trying to catch the baton? Well, no matter, Anaid be prepared! I'm about to pass you too.

So, as I accelerate without restriction, I'm able to easily pass my two friends, laughing loudly once I get to second place and only turning to see them for a moment and wave them goodbye.

"See you at the finish line!" I say and continue accelerating, focusing all of my energy and concentration on going faster and faster in order to catch up with the head rider.

Soon enough, I'm just a couple of meters behind, but she keeps on accelerating, trying to maintain her advantage. Not like that's going to work.

I speed up to the top of my capacity as I fly towards her right, trying to pass her… only for her to realize it and move accordingly, blocking my trajectory. Damn. Well, I'll just try the left side.

Aaaand… she's good. Too good. She won't let me pass! But what can I do? What…? Oh. Oh, I see! That's certainly an option, but… Okay. I just hope it works.

If I can't pass her from the side… how about above?

I stand up on my broom as the first step of my maneuver, at which the other girl turns around and regards me with wide eyes. I just smirk at her and then jump off of my broom… and onto hers.

"H-hey! What are you…?"

"I hope you don't mind arriving second." I retort before doing a summersault above her and landing on my broom, which had since passed from underneath, being able to pick up speed without my added weight.

And after that it's all a cakewalk to the finish line. Sure, the girl tries to catch up with me and get in first place again, but without clever tricks I'm able to easily block her path. She's too predictable, honestly! And so, before I know it, I'm speeding past the sports fields at top speed, arriving to the finish line before anyone else, laughing and cheering loudly because I finally did what everyone considered to be impossible. The dunce of Luna Nova's won the race!

It may not have been a conventional display in any way, sure, but it wasn't against the rules either. I won. _We_ won. And I proved once and for all that I do belong here, I'm not just the screw up! I'm a real witch! Everyone will have to acknowledge that from now on because I won and now my photo will be next to Croix's and all the other champions as proof that yes, I, Chariot du Nord, won the race against all odds.

* * *

"Sensei, you're amazing." Akko said as Ursula finished telling her tale. It was almost curfew already, so the professor had decided to escort her to her room and continue organizing the archive the next day, meaning they were traversing the halls in that moment. "I wish I could have been there to see it."

"Oh, it was nothing." The professor answered modestly. "Flying was simply something I loved, so it wasn't hard to master it."

"Do you think you could teach me some of your tricks?" Akko asked, stars practically shining in her eyes as she imagined herself doing the amazing displays of skill Shiny Chariot used to do on her broom.

"Shouldn't you learn to fly normally first?" Ursula answered, chuckling at her student's enthusiasm. "Besides, I can't fly anymore, so, as I _already_ said, you should ask someone else to help you. Like Diana."

"Oh. Right." Akko said, dejected, but didn't comment further about it, instead choosing to remain quiet for couple of seconds, apparently meditating about whether to say something or not, before finally speaking again. "Do you miss it, sensei? Flying?"

"A-ah… well…" The professor trailed off, deviating her gaze to the broom she was currently carrying in her right hand, before looking back at her student and giving her a very unconvincing smile. "N-not really." When Akko kept looking at her skeptically, however, she smiled sheepishly. "I don't want you to blame yourself, Akko. It really wasn't your fault."

"But if I had listened to you…"

"Akko, please." She cut her off hastily. "Let's forget about all of this, alright? There's no point on dwelling in the past."

Akko opened her mouth to object, but then quickly closed it once she noticed her teacher's pained expression. She knew she probably didn't want to keep talking about it, but she still felt like she needed to apologize, a thousand times if necessary! She had robbed her of the thing she enjoyed most about magic, after all. And all thanks to her own stupidity.

"I'm sorry." She said at least.

"Akko." The professor sighed. "You don't have to…" Ursula trailed off as she stopped in her tracks upon seeing there was a person blocking their way. Specifically, a certain blonde-haired student.

"Good afternoon, Akko. Professor." Diana said, polite as always, but with a clear stiffness in her movements that implied nervousness.

"Good afternoon, Diana." Ursula was the first to answer. "Do you want to escort Akko to her room once again? I trust you've learned your lesson and won't go along with her antics anymore."

"Yes, Professor. I assure you nothing of the sort will happen again." The star student said, placing her hands behind her back.

"Very well." The older witch nodded. "I shall leave you two then. See you in class, girls!" And with that she practically ran away, waving them goodbye, leaving Akko alone with the person she had been avoiding all day.

"H-hi." Akko said awkwardly when several seconds spent in silence passed.

"Akko." Diana answered with an stiff nod. "Care to walk with me for a while?"

"S-sure." She said, forcing her feet to start moving as she followed Diana, not really caring where they were going and just trying to come up with something to say. She didn't want things to be awkward between them, and so she really didn't want to acknowledge what had happened the other day, but she didn't think just ignoring the issue was healthy either, so…

"I'm sorry." At the same time Akko spoke Diana said something, but the Japanese girl couldn't understand her over her own voice. "Uh… what?"

"No, you go first. I insist." Diana answered.

"No, I didn't even know what I wanted to say, so please… you go first." Akko quickly responded, glad that she didn't have to be the one to bring up the elephant in the room.

"Very well." The blonde nodded, made a pause, as if pondering her words for a second, and then continued. "Akko, I believe I need to apologize. As your friend, I should have stood up to Finnelan when she was chastising you, and I'm sorry I failed at that." She sighed. "Now I'm afraid my cowardice has driven you away."

"No, Diana, I-I…! I'm the one who's sorry." Akko sighed. "I overreacted, and I'm embarrassed with myself, which is why I was avoiding you. I'd didn't know how I would explain my actions."

"But I hurt your feelings, something I had promised myself I wouldn't do ever again, so I'm the one who needs to apologize."

"Let's just say we're even and leave at that, okay?" Akko smiled, eager to put all of this ordeal behind.

"I… very well." Diana relented, although for a moment there it looked like she was about to protest.

"So, let's talk about something else." The Japanese girl suggested. "Like… did you know that the broom relay race is just a couple of weeks away? Crazy, right? And this time I'll make sure to train harder than ever so my picture can be next to Chariot's! And yours too!"

"I like your determination." The blonde giggled, appearing to relax for the first time since they started talking. "But didn't you _just_ learn how to fly?"

"I couldn'teven fly last year and I came second place, so winning now should be easy." Akko shrugged, exuding confidence that was surely not warranted, still, the heir couldn't help but smile.

"I see. And here I was about to suggest I'd give you some free flying lessons." Diana said, barely able to keep herself from smirking mischievously. "But I see they're not needed now, so…"

"No! I mean, yes! I mean…" Akko blushed at her own outburst of incomplete phrases. "Please help me?"

"It'll be my pleasure." She agreed, now openly smiling.

"Cool." The brunette answered, giving her a smile of her own. Truth to be told, she had been afraid her relationship with Diana would be stranded for a while after the little incident, but she sure was glad that was not the case, and now she not only had her friend back, but also a flying teacher! She really couldn't ask for more. She was lucky to have someone as amazing as Diana in her life.

As if thinking the same, Diana in that moment let their hands touch slightly, hesitantly, like wanting to make it look like an accident, but Akko wanted to be even closer to her friend, and she assumed she felt the same, so she ended up taking Diana's hand in hers and felt much better now that there was a physical reminder of their recent make up.

And Diana didn't pull away.

* * *

 **A/N: So, that was the race, and I really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writting it. Finally! A victory for our little Chariot! XD. So, as always, thanks for reading and please leave a review/favorite/follow if you liked it. See you soon :D**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :)**


	15. Healing potion! It works?

**Chapter 14: Healing potion! It works?**

"Whyyyy?!" Akko screamed, practically pulling her hair off in distress. It'd been three whole hours since the broom relay ended, and yet she still wasn't over the fact that they'd lost. _Again_. Not only that, they hadn't even come in second, but _third_. And she'd been training so hard too.

"Did you honestly think we'd win against _Amanda_?" Sucy deadpanned. Not for nothing Amanda was known as one of the fastest witches of their generation, bested only by Diana Cavendish herself, and even that was debatable. Plus, Constanze's mechanical broom and Jasmika's explosive bursts of speed were nothing to scoff at.

"It was your fault!" Akko pouted. "You didn't put nearly as much effort as last year because Lukić wasn't going to give out the prize this time."

"I still used my potions. It wasn't my fault they were prepared this time." The pink haired girl retorted, obviously getting irritated by Akko's accusations.

"Besides, since this year Babcock was going to give a signed copy of the first volume of Nightfall to the winner, I flew faster than ever!" Lotte interfered, trying to distract their friends before they started fighting again.

"Oh, that's true!" The Japanese witch smiled. "That was very impressive, Lotte!"

"Thanks." Lotte smiled at the praise, shyly deviating her gaze.

"What's Amanda going to do with a Nightfall book anyways?" Akko mused. After all, the redhead devil probably wasn't interested in such corny romance novels.

"Probably sell it to Lotte at the highest possible price." Sucy cackled.

"No, she won't." The Finnish girl grinned, wearing a mischievous expression that was definitely new on her. "Because she doesn't have it." Just then, she pulled a book out of her bag and opened it, revealing Anabelle's signature on the first page.

"I… wasn't expecting that." Akko said, staring at her friend like she was truly looking at her for the first time.

"You stole from the biggest thief in school?" Sucy laughed. "Now, _that_ 's something."

"Heh. You think so?" Lotte blushed, so unused to being praised.

"Let's just hope Amanda doesn't find out." Akko interfered.

"She'd probably suspect Barbara rather than Lotte." The potions genius pointed out. "I know _I_ would if I didn't already know the truth."

"True." Akko nodded.

The three girls kept walking towards their room in silence, ready to retire for the day, since they were so tired even Akko had none of her crazy ideas that involved going out after curfew. But, as they entered the hallway that would lead them to their room, she stopped, remembering something.

"I'm sorry girls, but I gotta go! I'll see you later… or maybe tomorrow if you're already asleep when I arrive." She said.

"Where are you going?" Lotte asked after the already departing girl.

"To talk to Professor Ursula! I haven't visited her in weeks, and I want to know what she thought of my performance at the race!" And with that, she was gone.

* * *

Chariot hung up and stared fondly at the cellphone. She loved talking with Croix, and since Akko had been too busy practicing for the broom race with Diana she'd been having a lot more free time lately, even if she did miss spending time with her favorite student and telling her stories about her teenage years.

But at least talking to Croix was getting easier and easier with each passing day. For being in prison she sure seemed to be in a good mood almost always, perhaps even better than when she was free. Plus, it was fun recalling their adventures as students. They also did some catching up from time to time; Ursula talked mostly about her extensive workload as a teacher, as well as all the adventures Akko got in, while Croix told her about the other prisoners she'd met, as well as her life in prison and her progress trying to discover a cure for Wagandea pollen (which wasn't much, since she couldn't get all the materials she requested).

But talking to her old friend did bring her joy, and if she was honest with herself, the more they talked the more she wished they could see each other soon, and maybe, just maybe, be friends again. Or even…

No.

Croix had hurt her too much. Even if she forgave her there was no way they could… or could they?

She didn't even know if she _wanted_ to.

"Ugh. You're just as useless as you were a decade ago." Alcor complained.

"S-shut up, Alcor!" Chariot blushed. "And stop reading my thoughts! I told you at least a thousand times."

"I can't help it. You're thinking too loudly!" The bird complained. Chariot was about to tell him to just go take a flight and give her some privacy if it bothered him so much, when the door of her room suddenly opened with a loud thud, startling her. She would have probably jumped out of her skin if she didn't already know who was most likely responsible for barging into her sleeping chambers so rudely.

"Sensei!" Sure enough, the Japanese girl entered though her door, barely stopping to close it before she ran to the couch and dropped herself next to the Professor, grinning. "Did you watch the race, sensei?"

"I did." She smiled back. "You did splendid out there, Akko."

"But we didn't win." The girl pouted, looking too much like a kicked puppy.

"You got third place. I think that's pretty good considering you just learned how to fly." She replied, trying to make her feel better. Plus, she really meant what she said. She was impressed Akko managed to fly as fast as she did without falling from her broom or passing out from exhaustion. Diana sure was a good teacher, and probably a strict one too.

"But I wanted my picture to be next to yours!" Akko protested, pouting stubbornly.

"There's always next year." Chariot reassured her. "And now you have a whole year to practice. I'm sure Diana won't mind continuing to help you."

"Yeah, I already asked." Akko smiled, feeling as her heart swelled with happiness when she remembered what Diana had told her earlier that day. "She said she'd be glad to, and that she's sure I'll soon be better than even her."

"She knows what she's talking about." Chariot answered. After all, she had absolute faith on her favorite student, more so considering she'd witnessed firsthand all the progress she'd made, from the helpless student that could barely cast a spell to the (somewhat) capable witch she was now.

"Yeah, but I think I'll limit the flying lessons to once a week for now." The girl mused. "They are a bit too exhausting and, besides, I missed coming to talk to you every day."

"Really? I thought Diana would prove to be even better company." The two girls had gotten so close lately, holding hands as they walked through the halls and always chatting and laughing so happily that the professor had even wondered if the Cavendish girl had finally confessed her feelings for Akko. She honestly wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.

"It's different." Akko shrugged. "Diana may be my friend, but you'll always be my sensei."

"Akko…" The professor felt her heart melt at the girl's sweet words, and the innocent and carefree tone she used.

"And besides, I want to know what happened next."

"Huh?" The professor eyed her, taking a moment to understand what she'd meant.

"After the broom race! What did Croix say? Did your classmates finally start treating you decently? Did you get to celebrate with your friends?"

"Akko, slow down." Chariot chuckled. "Those are a lot of questions, and I'm afraid that if I told you all of that we'd be here till down."

"Sensei." Akko pouted.

"What about I tell you about the time I finally managed to make the healing potion for Croix? It happened shortly after the race and before I properly celebrated my victory."

"Sure! That sounds fun." Akko grinned. "Honestly, I'm good with whatever you want to tell me."

"Okay." The professor paused for a few seconds, recalling the events before she started telling her tale. "So, as I was saying, this all happened just a couple of days after the broom race."

* * *

"Croix!" I pretty much yell as I walk into the astronomy tower skipping happily. Today is such a great day! It's only been a few days since I won the broom relay, and my roommates have been nicer than ever to me (which for Karen isn't saying a lot, honestly), my friends seem to have a little more respect for my magic abilities, and even the teachers haven't chastised me as much lately! Gosh, life couldn't be more perfect right now. I'm so happy! And I'm going to 100% share that happiness with Croix, whether she likes it or not.

"Chariot!" She startles, before fully processing that I'm here and rolling her eyes. "Don't you know how to knock?"

"Yeah, yeah." I wave off her chastising. "Now, I was thinking…"

"Bad idea." She deadpans, cutting me off.

"Hey!" I pout. "So, anyways, I was thinking that I…"

"I know what went wrong last time." She cuts me off _again_ before I can tell her my super plan of taking a break for today.

"You're gonna make me do it again, aren't you?" I deflate.

"Yes. The sooner the better, right? Now come on, I'd like to be able to use magic before the day ends."

So, it looks like my perfect plan of convincing Croix to celebrate with me and my friends will have to wait until the weekend. But that's okay. I can't be selfish and demand that she spends more quality time with me instead of trying to cure her hand, right? I have to remind myself that, even if this is little more than a tedious task I have to do every other day, for Croix it's her only chance at using magic in the near future.

While I start preparing everything in order to make the potion, Croix reads the recipe once again with an expression that clearly indicates deep concentration. I wonder what she's thinking. She seems determined to make it work this time.

"It's ready, Croix." I say once I finish measuring the ingredients and heating up the cauldron.

"Good." She nods, closing her book. "Get started then."

"But… you haven't told me what went wrong last time." I frown. I mean, what if I do the same thing again and this all ends up being for nothing?

"The iron can we were using to mix the ashes and the venom ended up neutralizing the effects of those two ingredients." She explains, shrugging. "I should have known. Iron is such a good magical conductor there was no way there would be no interference."

"Wait… so it was _your_ mistake?" And all this time I've been assuming I was doing something wrong.

"First of all, I _never_ make mistakes." She smirks smugly. "If we hadn't used the can, I wouldn't have learned that iron is not good for brewing potions, so I like to think of it all as a learning experience."

"Right." Isn't it still a mistake though?

"And second, you didn't realize what we were doing wrong, so it's your mistake as much as it is mine."

"I can barely remember the difference between mandrake and mimosa." I deadpan. "Did you really expect me to know _anything_ about brewing potions?"

"Fair point." She laughs. "So, anyways, let's start with the potion. I stole another cauldron from the laboratory, so it should all be good now."

And then we spend almost an entire hour brewing the stupid potion for like the hundredth time. Well, _I_ do it; Croix just watches, as always. And also corrects me when I'm doing something wrong… which surprisingly still happens a little too often. But still, I make the potion just like the book says, and by the end of it, it's a bright purple color, unlike the other times that it turned a dull orange. So… I guess I did it right? But then again it's _me_ we're talking about, so I wouldn't drink it if someone paid me. Guess Croix has a little too much faith in me, to be honest.

"Hey Croix, don't you wanna try it on like a rat or something? You know, before you…?" I trail off. Truth to be told, I don't like the idea of sacrificing a rat either, but it's still better than Croix tasting it herself.

"Nah. It should be fine." She says too confidently for my taste. "It's purple, see? Like it's supposed to be."

"Yeah, but… what if I screwed up somehow? You could die!"

"Honestly, Chariot, sometimes you worry too much." She rolls her eyes, already pouring the potion on a cup.

"At least tell me what I should do in case you get poisoned or something." I protest. I don't think I could live with the guilt of accidentally killing one of my friends.

"Nothing." She shrugs casually. "By the time you got to tell the teachers I'd be long dead, if you really did this wrong."

"Croix!" Geez, does she really not care about her own safety?

"Relax, Chariot." She laughs. "Everything will be alright, I promise."

"You can't promise that." I pout, but she just gently pats my head and smiles.

"Then I don't promise anything." And before I can't even think about stopping her, she brings the cup to her lips and downs it all in one big gulp. Then, she puts down the cup and grimaces. "I can't even begin to tell you how gross that thing tastes." She shudders.

"Did it work?" I ask apprehensively.

"Well…" She starts, but then she clenches her stomach and doubles over in pain.

"Croix!" I panic, moving towards her but being unsure of what to do. Should I do the Heimlich maneuver? Give her an antidote? Can I even _touch_ her? Oh, what do I do?! "D-don't worry, Croix. I'll go for the teachers." I say as I'm about to run off at the speed of light, but her hand grabs me and stops me before I can even take a step.

"Wait." She says.

"Croix, what…?"

"Haha! Got you!" She laughs, straightening herself again and looking at me with a mischievous smile. I stare at her for a couple of seconds trying to comprehend what's going on, but when I finally do I don't even hesitate before my fist is flying straight to her stupid smug face.

"Don't scare me like that, you idiot!" I yell as my fist makes contact with the arm she used to protect herself. However, she just laughs even harder. "It's not funny, Croix!"

"Ow! I think you'll have to make me another healing potion. It seems like you've broken my arm." She complains, pouting.

"You deserve it." I say, turning around in an indignant gesture.

"Oh, don't be like that! It was just a joke." I can perfectly imagine her rolling her eyes, even if I'm not watching. "And anyways, don't you want to find out if it worked?"

"It clearly did, or you would have dropped dead already." I retort, still refusing to look at her.

"Well, then I guess I'll go get my wand and do some magic. On my own. Without anyone seeing me. It'll probably also be pretty spectacular because I'm Croix and I'm just _that_ awesome."

Well, I mean… I do love magic. It's my weak point really, more so if it's spectacular. And come to think of it, I've never seen Croix do magic, have I? Maybe a couple of times, but it was nothing big and I was worried for her health, so the promise of seeing her doing magic deliberately and without restriction… how could I ever resist that?! Even if she's an absolute idiot for making me worry needlessly.

"Go on. Do magic." I say, finally turning around and seeing she already has her wand in her right hand. "I just hope it explodes in your face."

"Like that would happen to _me_." She rolls her eyes, but then concentrates her gaze on the still unlit tip of her wand. "I think I'll start with something simple, like an illumination spell, just to see if anything hurts."

Croix then furrows her eyebrows in deep concentration, watching as the tip of her wand finally lights up… except the dot of light is smaller than it should be. Or maybe she just decided to take it easy for now?

Sure enough, the light grows in size and intensity little by little, and at first I think Croix is being too cautious. Like, it's a freaking illumination spell! It should barely be taking any magic at all! But then I notice the sweat on her forehead. And the way her jaw tenses. Is she in pain? No, she would have stopped… right? Maybe she's just trying to get used once more to doing magic? I just hope she will actually stop in time if something is really wrong.

The dot of light then grows even more and starts shining blindingly, and Croix's expression turns from concentrated to determined and… angry? What? And in her hand some weird lines start appearing on her skin. At first I think they are just reflections of the light on her wand, but… no, they seem to be veins of luminous energy flowing just under her skin. They are a greenish blue color, and barely noticeable, but they are undoubtedly there, and I don't think that's good.

That's when I realize Croix's face has now paled, and her expression shows more pain than any other emotion at this point, excluding perhaps anger.

"Croix, wait… stop!" I yell and lunge forward, trying to pry the wand out of her. But she's faster, and she reacts by pouring what appears to be all of her magic in the one single illumination spell. The light then becomes as bright as the sun, blinding me momentarily, and this flash of light is quickly followed by Croix's pained scream, the clattering of her wand falling to the ground and, finally, nothing.

When I'm able to see again, everything is back to normal; there's no blinding point of light, and nothing is out of place except for Croix's wand, lying on the ground. And Croix is… well, she doesn't look so good.

She's clutching her right arm tightly as tears stream down her face, her eyebrows are scrunched and her jaw looks tense. She's obviously in pain, so I don't hesitate for even one second before going towards her and trying to soothe her.

"Croix? What's wrong? Are you hurt? Can I do anything to help you?" I say as my hands hover over her, while I hesitate to touch her. I don't even know what I want to do, really. Hug her? Help her sit on a chair? This whole mess is probably my fault though, so I doubt she wants anything to do with me right now.

"Just leave." She sobs as she unceremoniously drops to the ground and hugs her knees, continuing to cry.

I hesitate as I just remain frozen in my place. I don't want to leave her alone! She doesn't look good at all right now. The bright veins of magic under her skin are actually still visible, but receding, her hand is trembling and she appears to be in so much pain! I can't just leave her alone! Even if she hates me.

"Croix." I say softly as I sit at her side. "I-… I'm sorry. If I had know I would have drank the potion myself. I didn't mean to…" I try to swallow the painful knot on my throat, but seeing Croix in so much pain is making me want to cry myself. "I'm sorry. I wish I was better at brewing potions."

"It wasn't the potion." Croix finally speaks, but she doesn't look at me, instead choosing to stare ahead blankly as tears continue to fall from her eyes.

"What do you mean it wasn't the potion? You know I probably messed up somehow!"

"No, Chariot. _I_ messed up." She clenches her fists and an angry expression overtakes her face. But now I know she's not mad at me; she's mad at herself.

"W-what do you mean? You're Croix! You can't make mistakes, right?" I joke, trying to lift up her spirits a little, but if the bitter chuckle is any indication, I'd say I didn't succeed.

"Chariot, you know better than anyone that the only reason I even got hurt in the first place was because I made a mistake. I was reckless, and stupid, and…" Her voice cracks and she starts sobbing with her face buried on her knees. My heart clenches painfully at the sight, and I want to do something to alleviate her pain even a little bit, but… what can I truly do? I could hug her, but she hates that. I could try to reassure her, but she'd probably just dismiss my encouraging words. Maybe I should try a more logical approach, instead of emotional. Like she does.

"So… are you sure the potion did work?" I ask.

"Yes." She makes an active effort to stop her sobbing in order to respond, lifting her head slightly, just enough to look at me by the corner of her eyes. "The physical pain in my hand stopped almost immediately. And I can move it around freely now."

She extends her right hand and moves it in circles, from left to right and from up to down in order to prove her point. Unlike what I was expecting, she doesn't seem to experience any pain from those actions alone.

"Then… what happened earlier… why did it…?" I trail off, utterly confused. The potion was supposed to be powerful enough to cure any kind of illness or injury. Croix should be able to use magic now!

"When you agreed to be my assistant I told you that I had suffered both physical and magical injuries, remember?" I nod slowly once I recall said conversation. "Well, I was hoping a potion so powerful would be able to cure my magical injuries, but… I guess there's no real cure for that."

"Are you sure? We could go search at the library, if you want!" I say cheerfully, trying to make her feel better.

"I already did." She says, shaking her head in distress. "Everyone says the same: you can't cure magical injuries because magic isn't something physical and tangible; it's pure energy. Once the balance of energy in your body is lost, it's very difficult to reinstate it. Depending on the severity of your wounds and the way this balance was broken, you can take many years to recover. Or, more commonly… _never_." She practically snarls that last word and closes her eyes, choosing to bury her face between her knees again, and I… I don't know what to say. Should I even say anything? I can't even begin to comprehend what she must be feeling. If I was told that I can't do magic anymore, probably for years or maybe never, I would feel like my whole world has crumbled, like a part of me is dying, like… I don't even know! It must be terrible.

But I can't say that. I have to give her hope because, even if I know I wouldn't be able to do anything if this tragedy happened to me, she's _Croix_. And she's the prodigy of Luna Nova. Hell, she's probably smarter than any of the teachers! I'm sure that if someone is going to be able to get out of his situation it's her.

"Croix, I know this looks bad. That potion was probably your last hope for finding a quick solution, right? But… I mean, even if there's no cure right now for what you have, you can make your own."

"Make my own?" She scoffs. "Hundreds of witches throughout the centuries have searched for a cure without finding it, and you think _I_ will?"

"Well, you are smarter than most witches, more talented, knowledgeable and… and you don't like following old outdated rules."

"And just where did you get _that_ idea?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.

"This!" I answer, gesturing towards her whole laboratory, which is filled with technological junk. "I bet no other witch uses technology and magic the way you do."

"There are a few." She answers, frowning. "But most witches agree it's dangerous to mix magic with technology… and I was just too stupid to realize they were right."

"No, they're not!" I mean, granted, I've never seen Croix use her technology since the day of the accident, but just the idea of combining it with magic sounds fantastic, and very creative! So I'm not going to let her throw her passion into the trash.

"Using technology was what put me in this situation in the first place! That and… my own ambition." Croix grimaces, no doubt still kicking herself.

"It was a mistake though, right? You only got hurt because you didn't do something right, but it you're careful you could even end up inventing something to help you with your problem."

"Chariot…" She sighs. "The explosion wasn't what actually caused my magical injuries."

"Huh?" Okay, now I'm lost.

"I was trying to inject magic into myself, in order to gain more power and be at the level of even the descendants of ancient families."

 _Like_ _me_. I can't help but thinking, and that thought bothers me more than it should. Perhaps because I know that despite what she may believe, Croix is a far better witch than I'll ever be.

"I didn't take into account how my own magic would react to an external energy, however." She continues explaining. "My body rejected it, then the machine destabilized, and the explosion occurred, causing my physical injuries." Croix sighs. "As I said, I was greedy and stupid, and because of that I can't do magic anymore. Not without hurting myself further."

"But… but wait, why did you try to get more power? You are already above most of our classmates!"

"That isn't enough, Chariot." She smiles sadly. "I wanted to be the best. I wanted to be the most powerful, to… to maybe be worthy."

"Worthy of what?" I tilt my head, confused. In my mind Croix is already the best witch ever. The best friend I could ask for. The best person I've ever known. And the teachers and students already admire her talents! Why could she possibly want more?

"The Claiomh Solais, the grand Triskelion, the power to change the world and revive magic, and… I don't know. I just… I just wanted to be _someone._ " She sobs again, as even more tears fall from her eyes. And the sight, coupled with her words, is just so _sad._ And I don't like sadness, much less when seeing it on someone I love.

"You already _are_ someone, Croix." I say, letting my head rest of her shoulder as a comforting gesture.

"I'm not." She continues saying stubbornly. "And now that I can't use magic, I'll never be."

"Well, then use your technology!" I reply, separating from her and looking at her eyes with what I hope is a determined expression. "You can't just give up! If technology can help you, then you should give it a try instead of just giving up on your dream! You have nothing to lose, right?"

"Well, I…" She starts protesting, but then pauses, pursuing her lips. I take that as my cue to continue, hoping my words will serve as encouragement.

"I bet you've already invented tons of amazing things I don't even know about! Like that one!" I get up and walk towards one of the weird contraptions Croix has lying around, next to the stairs. It looks like some sort of cart, not big enough to transport a person, but perfect for carrying things around. Attached to it are various metal cylinders from which a green light emanates through some orifices, indicating it probably runs on magic.

"What's this, Croix?"

"Oh, that's just… it follows you around at your command, being able to transport all sort of things and even pick them up with those claws." She answers, and though she doesn't look any less miserable now, at least I managed to distract her from her suffering.

"Cool." I muse, noticing the big red button it has at one of its sides. "Is this how you turn it on?" I ask, pressing it. Instantly, the little cart comes to life and starts moving around the lab, expertly avoiding all obstacles (and there are _a_ _lot_ , with Croix being as messy as she is), until it finds a screwdriver, takes it and puts it on its compartment before driving towards Croix, stopping obediently in front of her.

"I must have shut it down before it completed its last task." Croix says with certain melancholy, taking the screwdriver from the little car before shutting it off again, looking at it intently, with a conflicted expression.

Guess that means my plan is working!

"It's amazing, Croix!" I say honestly. "And I bet that's only the tip of the iceberg! Like, is this even a normal computer?" I take her laptop from the desk and lift it up, turning it around to see if there's something amiss, but finding it to look like every other laptop I've ever seen… granted, I haven't seen a lot.

"No. It runs on magic, instead of electricity." She explains, finally getting up and slowly walking towards me, almost forcing herself to take each step. "It also is able to connect to the crystal ball web instead of the regular internet." As she says so, she takes it off my hands and opens it, which makes the screen light up instantly. "I've also copied most of the books in the library here, for research purposes." She opens up a folder, in which are tons of subfolders with titles like "Astrology and divination", "Transformation magic" and "Magic History", in which I assume are the many different books that the library houses.

"Whoa!" I exclaim. "That sounds useful!"

"It is. That's why I invented it." She manages a tiny smile before closing the laptop and putting it at the desk once more. "Unfortunately, nothing I have created can help me with my problem." She sighs.

"Nothing you have created _yet_." I correct her, but she just frowns, shaking her head.

"No, you don't get it! My problem is that I injected foreign magic into my body, and I can't take it out. Not without getting rid of my own magic too, at least." She sighs again.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes, Chariot, I've done my research. I'm sure." She answers, almost annoyed.

"Well, then just find a way around it!" I smile encouragingly. "Like in the broom race, when I was behind the lead girl and she wouldn't let me pass, so I just jumped over her! Surely you've done something like that at least once?"

Croix purses her lips, thinking, her eyes flicker for a moment towards the cellphone at her desk, but then she quickly deviates her gaze to the floor and shakes her head.

Well, now that just won't do.

"Really? Then how does this work?" I ask, strolling past her and grabbing her cellphone.

"That is… I mean… it's not the same!" She snatches it out of my hands and turns it around, opening the battery compartment, in which there's a battery, sure, but it's wrapped in cables that shine with green light, like they were made of the same stuff as spellstones.

"Whoa! What's _that_?" I get closer, trying to look better at the contraption.

"I just… I was trying to get it to work on magic, like my laptop, but the battery didn't appear to be compatible when I tried to charge it with magic instead of electricity." She explains. "So I used a cable covered in spellstone powder to connect the electrical circuit while allowing magic to pass though at the same time."

"And it worked." I smile, not bothering to phrase it like a question since I already know the answer. I may not have truly understood what she just said, but that just confirms how awesome she is.

"Well… yeah." She frowns. "At first I didn't fully understand why, but I guess it's because energy is always trying to find a stream to follow. The battery is like a large lake, and I was trying to fill it with oil while it already had water; they just don't mix. So I provided an escape route for both and suddenly I have a phone that works on magic and electricity."

"Huh. That sounds a lot like what you said earlier. About your body rejecting external magic." I muse.

Croix freezes, her eyes widening as she keeps staring at her phone, like an idea suddenly popped in her head, and I think I know what that is.

"I just have to… find a way _around_ it." She mumbles before leaving her cellphone on her desk and rushing to search for something in one of her toolboxes.

"Croix?" I call, walking towards her, but she seems to be too concentrated on her task to even hear me. "What are you…?"

"One second." She answers, finally getting what she was looking for; a cable that seems to have some kind of crystal growing on it, I suppose spellstone, even if it's not glowing now.

She quickly gets up from her kneeling position and tries to unbutton the sleeve of her shirt, which is quite a difficult task giving her left hand is still holding the cable.

"Let me help you." I say, rushing to get to her side and complete the job, pulling her sleeve all the way to her elbow.

"Thanks." Croix smiles at me. "Now hold this in place." She places the tip of the cable on her elbow, and I put my finger over it, preventing it from moving while Croix starts wrapping it around her arm, all the way to the base of her middle finger, where she wraps it around a few times, creating some sort of ring, until she has no cable left. Only then, I let go.

"Well, now I just need to test it." She says, going to pick her wand from the spot where it landed on the floor earlier.

"Just… take it easy this time, okay?" I say apprehensively. I just don't want to see her in such pain ever again.

"Yes, yes." She pretty much dismisses my concerns _again_ as she holds up her wand, preparing the spell. "I doubt this will work anyways, but I guess there's no harm on trying it."

She then scrunches her eyebrows and concentrates, obviously trying to light up the tip of her wand again… except nothing happens. A few seconds pass and her wand still refuses to make any magic. Which is… quite a disappointment, really. I was hoping this would work! Now Croix will be extra sad. Great.

But wait… what's that on her arm? Oh. The cable is lighting up! Starting at her elbow and slowly climbing upwards there's a green light originating from the spellstone, no doubt as it comes into contact with Croix's magic. And when it reaches her finger the wand finally lights up! Sure, it's a small dot of light, and not all that bright, but it's _there_. And most importantly, Croix doesn't seem to be in any pain… though her face is red like she's doing a lot of effort.

"Croix? Are you okay?" I ask, just to make sure.

"Yeah, just…" She trails off, relaxing her grip on her wand and letting the light disappear as the cable also regains its original unlighted state. "It could use a few adjustments." She says, almost out of breath. "An amplifier would be nice, as well as a battery to store excess energy. Also, copper is not such a good magic conductor, so I should replace it with steel." She pauses as she starts unwrapping the cable. "The design could also be better. I'd prefer something less conspicuous for sure."

"But… it didn't hurt, right?" I ask, again worrying for my friend's health.

"Not one bit." She grins. And I smile right back.

"Who would have thought that you're just one big cellphone battery?" I joke.

"Only you." She laughs.

And as we keep laughing and joking around while she starts coming up with ideas for the design of her new contraption (power gauntlet, as she calls it), I can see the light slowly returning to her eyes, replacing that deep anger and sadness she expressed earlier, which I hope to never see again… even if I know I most likely will.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I hope you liked that little bit of Charoix, and if you did please leave a coment, or favorite and follow if you haven't. Thanks for reading, and see you soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	16. A dream is born

**Chapter 15: A dream is born.**

"For the millionth time, girls! Do not use magic outside school!" Professor Finnelan was scolding the red team of course, the most infamous trio of troublemakers in Luna Nova.

"What's even the point of bringing back magic if we can't use it?" Akko was the one who protested, as always.

"And why did you use it to turn a boy into a frog?" The professor asked, glaring at the insubordinate girls.

"He was asking for it." This time Sucy was the one who talked, scowling.

"And I turned him back afterwards." Lotte added with an apologetic smile.

"Not before those two threatened him to toss him into the crocodile's cage in the zoo." Finnelan countered.

"On the bright side, Akko's abilities with metamorphosis magic have improved." Ursula tried to intervene, but a glare from the other professor quickly shut her up.

"And Professor Ursula, wasn't it _your_ responsibility to make sure they didn't get up to any mischief while in town?" Finnelan then started to scold the other teacher, though her expression did soften upon looking at Ursula's ashamed face.

"But then again, I suppose it was mostly the girls' fault, which is why…" She trailed off, fixing her glare on each one of the members of the red team. "I'm afraid you no longer will be allowed to bring your wands out of the school, at least until you show me you can behave like proper witches, understood?"

Considering it was a relatively small punishment for all the things they'd done (most of which hadn't been reported to the strict professor), the three girls were quick to nod in agreement… even if in Akko's case was only because of the use of a puppet spell Sucy casted, knowing the Japanese girl was likely to get them in even more trouble otherwise. However, Akko glared at her when she noticed, planning her revenge for later.

"And Professor Ursula, please tell me you erased the memory of any and all witnesses? The last thing we want is the parents suing us if they find out."

"Uh… I'll be right back."

* * *

"Oh, Alcor I feel so bad!" Akko had been rambling to the white bird for almost an hour now, while she waited for her professor to return. She'd even brought her an apology present! … In the shape of a fruit tart stolen from the cafeteria, but still.

"Not for the kid, I mean, he totally deserved it! He was being a jerk honestly. And his friends weren't any better either. I'm so glad magic's back in the world, or else we would have probably resorted to throwing tomatoes are them or something, but… gosh, I didn't mean to get my sensei involved in all of this! I mean, she's so nice to me, and tells me stories, and gives me free lessons, and what do I do? Turn a boy into a frog!"

"Are you done yet, girl?" Alcor sighed in exasperation. "I'm trying to sleep here."

"But… aren't you a crow? Shouldn't you go fly ominously during the night or something?"

"You know we're diurnal, right?" When he received a blank stare from the Japanese girl, he sighed once more and then clarified. "We sleep at night and are awake during the day, just like you."

"But Diana's familiar prefers to sleep during the day."

"That's because she's an owl!"

"Akko?" Chariot's voice interrupted the little discussion between her pupil and her familiar.

"Sensei!" The girl instantly forgot about the crow and quickly ran to meet her professor… except she tripped over her own feet and ended up falling face-first to the ground.

"Akko! Are you alright?" The professor quickly went to assist her in getting back up, but the energetic girl was already back on her feet before she could even take two steps.

"Ah… that hurt." She said, rubbing her chin, but then quickly flashed her professor one of her famous bright smiles. "But look, sense, I brought you a tart!" She then pointed to the desk, where said tart was… although a small portion of it was missing, having already disappeared into the endless pit known as Akko's stomach. But hey, Akko didn't have enough self-control to deny herself such a delicious treat for more than five minutes, so really it was a miracle there was anything left of the tart at all. "It's an apology, for getting you into trouble earlier, and making you work more than you had to."

"Thank you, but you really didn't have to…" Chariot trailed off as she realized something. "You stole it, didn't you?"

"Well…" Akko gave her an apologetic smile. "You're not going to report me, are you?"

Now, Chariot was a teacher, a responsible adult. More so, she was Akko's personal tutor! Surely she shouldn't let her get away with this, especially since she'd already gotten in trouble just a few hours earlier, but then again… she always enjoyed those tarts, and Professor Holbrooke very rarely shared them with the other professors. And Akko had stolen it just for her, it'd be very rude on her part to reject her, right?

"I suppose there's no real harm done…"

"Yay!" Akko exclaimed, taking her hand and pretty much dragging her to the desk. "Come on, sit down. I'll prepare the tea, and then we can eat tart and talk a bit. Hey, will you tell me another one of your stories? You still haven't told me how you celebrated your victory."

"Ah… sure, I guess." Of course Akko wanted to hear more about her idol's youthful days. And while the professor was very tired because of how many memories she'd had to erase (thank the Nine that Diana had volunteered to help her! Or else she probably wouldn't have finished in time), she decided to oblige. After all, this particular anecdote was very important and very precious to her. It was that day, one very ordinary weekend day, when it all began. When the idea of Shiny Chariot was first conceived.

* * *

Okay, so I'm not exactly sure how I convinced, not only my teammates, but also Croix herself to join me and the mischievous twins in my celebration for winning the race. It involved lots and lots of begging, a bribe and a whole tone of my cutest puppy dog eyes, but here we are, the six of us hanging out at Blytonbury.

I haven't been here more than a couple of times, honestly. Why hang out in some random provincial English town when you can be at a magic school instead? But I've heard a lot of my classmates do visit the place quite often, and Croix actually comes here every once in a while to get her technological supplies, so I figured I should give it a try. And this being the first weekend after the broom race, which means we have a whole day to explore, seems like the perfect opportunity.

The idea is just go to town, let myself be dragged around by my friends as they show me the place, hopefully get an ice-cream or something, and then return to Luna Nova. Simple, right? I bet nothing can go wrong… except my teammates seem to hate my friends more than they hate me. And my friends also appear to hate my teammates. And Croix looks like she wants to get out of this as soon as possible. Great.

So, first mission, try and get everyone to get along!

"I'm so glad y'all agreed to come!" I say, to no one in particular. "You have no idea how much it means to me that we can be here, together, like normal friends hanging out in town."

"I'm just here because you two made me." Karen sighs. "I was hoping to study all day."

"Karen!" Amelia chastises her.

"What? I do take my responsibilities seriously, unlike a certain redhead that became overconfident just because she knows how to fly."

"Who knows how to fly _spectacularly_ well." I correct, smiling proudly. "Headmistress' words."

"Yeah, right. You only won because you cheated." Enid says, pouting, no doubt still sore for her loss at the race. Even if she did finish third.

"I didn't cheat! Read the rules!" I immediately protest.

"Well, what you did certainly _should_ be considered cheating." Anaid unsurprisingly agrees with her sister. "Like, come on, landing on another witch's broom, even for a second? It's clearly not fair."

"Yeah, yeah, complain all you want. No one flies better than the great Chariot du Nord!" I answer, not at all apologetic for rubbing my victory on their faces. After all, I earned it with sweat and tears. Literally!

"You didn't do it alone, remember? We're a _team_." Karen protests, irritated, and I have the decency of giving her a sheepish look. I mean, of course I know they did their part! But honestly, sometimes it feels like I did all the work, considering how slow those two were.

"Right, right." I answer, trying to placate the fury burning in my teammate's eyes.

"Excuse me?" Croix raises an eyebrow, speaking up for the first time since we arrived to the town, which surprises us all. "I saw the whole race. You would have come last if it wasn't for Chariot." Of course she's right, but I can't agree with her without looking like an ass. Plus, I'm sure Amelia and Karen did their best! It's not their fault they aren't as fast as me.

"It was Amelia's fault." Karen unsurprisingly says.

"Hey! I got a bad start, thanks to certain teams conspiring against me." She shoots an angry look to the twins, who immediately take on offended expressions.

"Are you insinuating something, Amelia?" Enid challenges.

"I am."

And so, the fighting begins. Again. Honestly, it's been like this since we left the school. Ugh! If only they could get along for just a few hours! They're all so funny, and amazing and… okay, maybe not Karen, but the rest should be able to get along, right? Why can't they just make peace? And why do I only make things worse?

"Seriously, Chariot. Why did you think this was a good idea?" Croix complains, slowing down her pace to walk slightly behind the others, and I do the same, wanting to be with Croix and Croix alone. At least for a while.

"I don't know!" I whine. "I just wanted to celebrate, have a good time."

"My idea of a good time is a cup of instant ramen and a TV."

"Maybe we should do that next time." I sigh.

"Hey, wanna see something cool?" She asks after a while, giving me a look that definitely tells me she want to get away from the other four. Well, not happening! Part of the reason I invited Croix is because I think she needs to socialize, and she's gonna do it weather she likes it or not!

"Sure! You think the others will like it?" I feign obliviousness.

"I was kinda hoping it'd be just us…" She frowns, trailing off and looking awkwardly to the side.

"Why? If it's as cool as you say we should all see it!" I then turn to look at the other girls, who are still bantering about, and quickly interrupt them. "Hey! Croix says she wants to show us something cool."

They all stop talking and turn to look at us, giving Croix an unbelieving stare that makes her shrink and look almost sheepish for a moment.

"You do?" Enid asks, clearly not buying it.

"Uhm… yeah." Croix sighs, resigned to her fate. "Follow me." Then she goes to position herself at the front of our little group, but as she passes me, she whispers one single threat. "I'm going to kill you."

But she doesn't scare me anymore; she's too much of a softy.

* * *

A few minutes later we arrive to the place in question, and honestly? I would've passed without noticing it if not for Croix stopping at the door. It's a small dark place with a sign that simply reads "Last Wednesday Society". It's a café of sorts, I guess, and it looks nothing special, but surely Croix brought us here for a reason, right? Unless she wants revenge and actually just took us to a random café to spite me and keep me wondering what she had originally in mind. But no. Croix wouldn't do that, would she?

"Seriously?" Karen is the first one to complain… just not for the reasons I expected. "I've already been here at least a dozen times!"

"Yeah. This place is boring! Let's go somewhere else." Enid surprisingly agrees with Karen, and the other two girls soon follow.

"Why? What's this place?" I ask, confused.

"A magic shop." Croix simply answers, smiling at me and ignoring our companions. "Quite possibly the last one of its kind, at least in England."

"Wait… what?! A magic shop?!" I exclaim excitedly as I all but run inside, my eyes shining brightly when I place them on the many objects there are on shelves, which I have no idea what they are, but they must be awesome! Like that wand, or that wooden staff, or that crystal ball! They all look very old, and mysterious! Oh, what I'd give to try them all out!

"Careful, this one is very fragile." The shopkeeper, a man in his forties, tall, overweight and with a bear, says when I try to touch what seems to be a wand made of glass. "Rumors say it belonged to the last fairy godmother, who lived ten centuries ago."

"Cool." I muse, practically itching to touch it… even if I know I'd most likely break it with how clumsy I am.

"I'll keep an eye on Chariot, don't worry." Croix tells the shopkeeper as she enters, followed by my reluctant teammates and friends. "She won't break anything or start a fire somehow."

"Hey! You make me sound like a hazard!" I pout.

"Yes." She answers naturally.

"What do you mean 'yes'?" I complain once more, but she just laughs.

"Relax, Chariot. I'm just teasing. Now, let's go look around, but don't touch anything, alright?"

"Sure! Hey, what's that?!" I immediately run off toward something that caught my attention; it's a sand clock of sorts, but its crystal is opaque, black even, and inside it there's a green dust going upwards. It looks so cool! I want it.

"That, Chariot, is a Timeless Tool." Karen is the one who responds, surprisingly enough, but of course she does so with a condescending tone. "It can revert any object to its original state, no matter how deteriorated it is or how many years have passed since it last saw its prime days."

"Sounds useful." I smile, trying not to get too irritated by her attitude.

"It's also incredibly difficult to make, and can only be used once." Amelia cuts in, smiling proudly when she sees Karen watching her in surprise, obviously not having expected her to know that information.

"That's boring!" Anaid interrupts our little conversation. "Come take a look at this instead."

We all turn to see what the twins are up to, and I realize they're next to a vitrine with some sort of broom inside, except it's red, it appears to be made of metal, and it's chained for some reason. Regardless, it looks really cool as well.

"Whoa! What is _that_?" I ask, approaching.

"It's just an old broom." Croix shrugs, obviously not caring at all for such a thing.

"That, Chariot, is the fastest broom to ever be invented." Enid says, her eyes fixed on said object, shining wit barely dissimulated want. "Honestly, if I had had it during the broom race we would have won."

"Yeah, right. Like _you_ could ever ride the legendary broom. Even Chariot would have a greater chance." Karen retorts.

"Oh, so you think you could do better?" Anaid says, clearly searching to start a fight.

"Naturally."

"G-girls, let's not fight over it." Amelia intervenes, probably being as tired of their shenanigans as I am, but of course they ignore her and start fighting again.

I then decide to just tune them out, knowing there's nothing I can do to stop their little debacle. Maybe I should go talk to Croix instead, see if she can explain to me what's that golden ball over there… except Croix is now talking to the shopkeeper near the entrance, and is holding something in her hands. Curious, I decide to go to her.

"Is that really as cheap as you can give it to me? I mean, it's just a photocopy." I overheard her asking. That's when I see that what she's holding is a bunch of papers.

"I'm afraid I can't lower the price any more." He responds. "You see, the original book is rumored to have been burned during the era of the witches' hunts, and the only copy is in possession of a very reserved individual. I don't even know how my associate was able to get his hands on this!"

"Ugh. Fine." Croix sighs, getting her hand inside her pocket and retrieving a credit card. "Here, take all my money."

"What's that, Croix?" I ask her while the shopkeeper inserts the card on the terminal.

"Oh, it's just a book that will hopefully have the answers I need." She says nonchalantly.

"About your arm?" I inquire further.

"No, that problem is mostly in the past now." She answers, looking down at her hand for a moment, though there doesn't seem to be anything different, as her gauntlet is cloaked with an invisibility potion. "This is about something else."

"Which is?" I prompt. Ugh, I hate when she gets all mysterious.

"Way too complicated for you." She answers with an odious smirk.

"Hey!"

Before I can protest any further, however, the shopkeeper calls Croix to give her her card, as well as a bag to put in the book she just bought. I, of course immediately get distracted with something else in the store, but with my other friends still fighting over there and no one there to explain me what everything is, it gets kinda frustrating. Also, why is Croix still talking with the shopkeeper? Come on, hurry up! I want to know what this little ring-thingy does!

Just then, a voice coming from outside the store catches my attention. It's high pitched, like it's coming from a little boy, but the words are what actually make me want to listen more closely.

"Come on, witches aren't real!" I peer though the doorframe to try and see who's talking, and discover it's a group of two boys and one girl, all probably around six or seven years old, and they seem to be in the middle of a heated discussion, which is why they haven't seen me.

"But my grandpa told me they are!" Another boy protests, puffing his cheeks.

"He just wanted to scare you." The girl argues.

"He said this is a magic store, and that if you go inside the witches will curse you!"

"No, they won't." The boy that had originally been speaking intervened once more. "Because they don't exist."

Okay, maybe I should end their little debate. It's not like I've got anything better to do anyways (honestly, three random kids listening to me has a greater chance of happening that my friends doing it), and I can't just let people keep thinking that we are just some fairy tale, right? Or that we're evil, for that matter! It's my witching duty to correct them.

"Actually…" I say, stepping out of the shop and addressing the children, who all jump a bit, startled. "Witches do indeed exist, but we're not evil, and we won't curse you." They all look at me with distrustful eyes for a moment, but then the girl is the first one to speak.

"And how do _you_ know?" She frowns. "Are you a witch?"

"No, of course not." One of the boys (the one who was talking about his grandfather) responds before I can say anything. "She's too young, and she doesn't have green skin."

"But I am a witch! We don't have to look like those silly cartoons on the TV in order to do magic, you know?"

"Then prove it!" The other boy challenges. "If you really are a witch, then do some magic." His two friends immediately agree with him, and soon the three kids are asking me to do magic.

And… yeah, I know I shouldn't. It's not only prohibited, but the last two times I used magic outside school ended with a traffic jam and a dog with five-meters-long legs. But, I mean… what's the harm? Just one spell. An illusion spell. What could possibly go wrong?

"Alright, alright. I'll do magic." I smile as I get out my wand and ready the spell. "Okay, so… do you like dogs? Or birds? What would you prefer?"

"Are you going to turn us into animals?" The boy who's afraid of witches asks fearfully.

"No." I chuckle. "I'll make them appear."

"A dog sounds nice." The other boy says.

"I prefer cats." The girl says. I then turn to look to the boy who's yet to give me an answer.

"Uh… horses. I like horses." He answers hesitantly.

"Alright then! Prepare yourselves to enter a world of magic!" I exclaim as enthusiastically as I can, hoping to convey my love for magic, so that they'll love it too.

Just then, I release the first spell, which is a dog, roughly the size of a small puppy, which comes out of the tip of my wand and starts running circles around the kids, while floating in the air. The color is yellow, and it looks like it's made of light, like any illusion spell, but it seems to do the trick, as the three kids gasp in awe, and their eyes open wide, following my creation's every movement with their eyes. Then, I move my wand once more and the dog turns into a blue cat, which climbs onto the girl's shoulders before jumping towards the other kids. They seem to startle at first, but soon enough they relax and start laughing, full of joy.

Finally, to finish my little spectacle, I conjure up a life-sized red horse, making him run through the street, startling quite a few people (ups!), before making it run back towards us, dissolving into an explosion of colorful fireworks just before coming into contact with the kids. And with that I pause, waiting for their reactions. As expected, they remain stunned for a moment, likely too enthralled to properly respond, but once the moment of surprise has happened, the three kids start clapping and laughing, and asking me to do one more trick… and not only them. Soon enough I realize a lot of the people who were walking down the street had also stopped to stare at my little improvised spectacle. When I hear someone clapping at my back, I see my friends had also come outside to watch, and they all seem impressed, especially Croix, who was the one who clapped, and is looking at me with something like pride. Karen is the only one who's looking at everything but me, and has her arms crossed over her chest, probably not wanting to admit she enjoyed my little performance.

I feel a little sheepish with so many eyes pointed in my direction, and my cheeks are all but burning at this point. But at least my friends' smiles manage to calm me down enough to address my little crowd once more.

"So… you want to see another spell?" I ask, smiling through my nervousness and focusing just on the three kids in front of me, in order to calm down a bit.

"Yes, yes!" One of the boys says, smiling so widely I think his cheeks will surely hurt later. "Now make something cool appear, like a dragon!"

"Or a unicorn." The girl adds.

"Or a lion!" The other boy requests.

Honestly, they sound so enthusiastic about magic now, even considering they believed it didn't exist just minutes ago. More so, they all look so happy and mesmerized… they remind me of myself when I was their age, discovering magic for the first time. Gosh, I want to live up to their expectations so badly! Thankfully I've been practicing illusion magic a lot.

I then ready my wand, imagine the dragon inside my head, and…

Nothing. No magic.

Confused, I look at my wand and shake it a few times, but even the tip has dimmed. Weird. Maybe it's the battery?

Surely enough, as soon as I open the battery compartment I find only darkness instead of the green glow of magic, meaning…

"Ugh… I'm sorry kids, looks like I'm out of magic." I smile apologetically at them, but their smiles still turn into frowns and pouts almost instantly.

"Seriously? But you only used four spells!" The girl protests, understandably upset.

"I know, but… that's how magic works, I'm sorry." I apologize, hoping they will remember the spectacle I gave them rather than the disappointment they experienced afterwards. But they are already walking away… as well as the rest of my public.

"What's magic worth if you can't use it for more than a minute anyways?" I hear one of the boys saying as they pass. Which saddens me, more so because I agree wholeheartedly with him. I wish I could use all the magic I want! That way, I could bring happiness to so many people! And make them love magic as much as I do. That would be absolutely amazing.

"Hey, thanks for showing us magic." One of the kids actually stops on his way in order to talk to me. "It was really fun." And then, he's gone. But at least he left a smile on my face. Maybe it wasn't in vain after all.

"So… are you a street performer now?" Croix teases, coming to stand by my side.

"I wish! This stupid wand can't cast more than four spells when there's no Sorcerer's stone nearby." I answer, glaring down at my wand. The responsible for cutting my fun short.

"Well, what were you expecting? We're not even supposed to be doing magic outside school." Karen is the one who answers, giving me a disapproving look.

"But it was amazing!" Enid says, smiling widely. "I'd never even seen that spell. I bet it would be great for pulling some pranks!"

"And the fireworks at the end were a nice touch." Her sister adds, also smiling.

"I thought the cat was pretty cute." Amelia seems to agree with the twins for once.

"Yes, I must admit that it was a flawless execution of an illusion spell." Even Karen compliments me, which is just the weirdest thing. "Now I see what you spend all your free time with."

"You've indeed improved a lot." Croix says placing a hand on my shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks." I blush, being under such high praise, looking first at Croix and then the rest of my friends. "Thank you all, really, this means a lot to me."

Well, by their happy faces it looks like my little spectacle served to calm them down a bit. Hopefully they'll get along better now and we can go get an ice cream or something without them fighting for every little thing. But… I didn't get to see everything in the magic store!

Wait… the magic store probably sells wands, right? I wonder if it has one with a bigger battery than mine.

"Wait! I need to see something!" I say as I pretty much push past them to get into the store and towards the counter, where the shopkeeper is.

"Hey girl, I saw your little spectacle. Pretty impressive. Believe it or not, I'd never seen magic before." He says, smiling.

"Thanks." I simply say, eager to ask my question. "Hey, do you have wands with better batteries? Maybe one that could last like an hour or so casting spells?"

"An hour?" He exclaims in disbelief, laughing. "No, from what I know your wands are some of the best they are." He explains. "There was an abundance of magic in the past, after all, so most of these relics don't even have batteries." He then points to the many wands he has in his store, most of which are made entirely of wood and sure enough don't seem to have any room for magic storage.

"Oh." I sigh, disappointed. "And isn't there something else? Like a scepter or something?"

"Well, I _could_ get you a modern scepter, but even then the battery can only store enough magic for two dozens of small spells." He says apologetically. "And honestly it's so expensive you'd be better off buying your own Sorcerer's stone."

"Are there mini Sorcerer's stones? Like, one I could store in my pocket?"

"No, the smaller there is it's about the size of a jar." He answers, signaling with his hands the approximate size of said thing… which is still bigger than my head. And I already have one of those! Back at home, but still. It wouldn't serve me at all.

"Alright. Thanks anyways." I sigh resigned and then turn around, going towards my friends who are presumably still outside. Except I stop before even taking one step when I notice Croix followed me here.

"You really liked doing that, huh?" She says, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah… did you see their faces? I've always wanted to spread my love for magic into other people. I just didn't know _how_." I sigh. "Making spectacles would be a pretty good way, even if it's just on the street, but…"

"Hey, don't worry. Once I revive magic, you'll be able to make as many spectacles as you want." She reassures me with a kind smile.

"Revive magic? What?" I ask, utterly lost. I didn't think there was even a way to revive magic! But if it's even possible at all, I know I'd do anything to help Croix.

"I'll explain later. For now let's go before your friends start fighting again, alright?" She smiles before turning around and walking out of the store.

I quickly follow her (not without thanking the shopkeeper first), but I know now I won't stop wondering about what she just said for the rest of the day. If there is indeed a way to revive magic, then it would be super easy to spread my love and wonder for it into other people! I would just have to wave my hand and… puff! Everyone would be happy. Honestly, it'd be like a dream come true! I hope Croix explains everything as soon as we go back to Luna Nova.

* * *

 **A/N: So... I meant to update earlier than this, but I was working on another fanfic of mine (if you like the Hamanda ship you may want to check it out), still I'm sorry, and I super duper promise that the next update will come in 15 days tops! So, expect some Charoix sweetness coming soon :D**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading and if you want to leave a coment I'd very much appreciate it, and it'd hopefully inspire me so I can update faster. Follows and favorites help to, so please do that if you're liking this story. See you!**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :)**


	17. Stargazing

**Chapter 16: Stargazing.**

"Honestly, sensei, that doesn't sound like a fun celebration at all." Akko commented after Chariot finished telling her about the events that had occurred at the Last Wednesday Society. Between the two of them they had already managed to eat the whole tart and drank three cups of tea each, so they were pleasantly full, and were now sitting on the couch, talking.

"Oh, it was fun." The professor assured her. "My first spectacle has always had a special place in my heart, even if it wasn't as long as I would've liked."

"Well, yeah, performing magic does sounds fun, even if you only had three kids as public." The girl hummed in agreement. "But wait… does that mean then that you too broke the rules and used magic outside school?" By the mischievous grin in her face, Chariot already knew what Akko was getting at, but she was quick to remind her the main difference on their actions.

"Yes, but unlike you I used magic to entertain kids, not to turn them into animals." This answer, of course, got an angry pout from her student.

"You heard the boy! He was being a jerk!"

"Language, Akko." The professor reprimanded her. "And yes, I'll admit that, but magic is a serious thing, and shouldn't be used lightly and for such petty squabbles."

"Hmf." Akko crossed her arms over her chest, huffing in annoyance. "I bet you did similar things when you were my age."

"Well, yes…" She trailed off. "I did far worse things, actually. And all because I didn't take responsibility in having such power, and because of it, I ended up using magic incorrectly and causing a lot of harm." She sighed, a sad expression overcoming her features. It was clear she wasn't talking about any random event, but about her being chosen by the Shiny Rod and failing to bring magic back, stealing magic from many children and leaving a scar on the moon. Her deepest regrets. Akko felt pretty bad for reminding her of this.

"Sensei?" Akko reached to put her hand over her mentor's, but she got up from the couch before she could do that. And then she started ascending the stairs, without saying another word. "Sensei!" The Japanese girl quickly got up and followed her up to the little balcony, where her teacher stood staring at the stars; her expression a mixture of melancholy and regret that made Akko wonder what she was thinking. "Sensei?"

"I'm sorry, Akko. I just…" She trailed off, sighing once again. "When I'm distressed or overwhelmed, I come to look at the stars. It calms me."

"Huh. Makes sense." Akko mused. "I mean, since you are the Astrology teacher."

"It's always been like this." Chariot managed to smile, though some pain still remained in her eyes. "My aunt and I often went out at night to look at the stars, and she'd tell me all sorts of stories."

"Stories?"

"Yes. Look." The professor then pointed to what Akko assumed was a constellation, although she'd always had problems seeing actual shapes in the stars. "You know what that constellation is called?" When the student shook her head no, Chariot chuckled.

"Well, I think I'll have to give you an F then." She joked. "But anyways, that one's Leo. He was a giant lion, with his skin as tough as metal and teeth as sharp as swords. He killed many people and destroyed lots of villages, until one day Hercules arrived and strangled him using only his bare hands, thus saving the lives of thousands of innocents."

"Wow." Akko smiled, mesmerized more than anything by the way her teacher told the tale, like it was real and as if she had been there. Epic. Dramatic, even. "Honestly, if you taught us Astrology like that, I wouldn't have any trouble understanding it!"

"Unfortunately it's not in the program." Chariot answered apologetically. "I only have to teach you the names of the constellations and how to interpret their positions in the sky. The stories… don't really serve any purpose."

"I see." Akko pouted, unable to hide her disappointment.

"That said, if you ever want to stargaze with me and have me tell you stories, I wouldn't be opposed." She smiled at her student, her expression now free of the pain that had overtaken her a few minutes ago.

"I wouldn't want to bother you even more than I already do." Akko answered, scratching the back of her neck sheepishly.

"It's not a bother; as I said, it's always been one of my favorite activities." She sighed once more, this time with nostalgia, as a barely suppressed smile started growing in her face. "So much so that I even went stargazing with Croix after we returned from town. As another form of celebration."

"Really?" Akko reclined her back against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest, giving the professor her undivided attention.

"Akko." Chariot chuckled and shook her head. "I already told you a story today."

"So? You just said you went stargazing with Croix the same day of your celebration, right? So it counts as the same story."

"Alright… but pay close attention, okay? It may not appear so, but the events that happened that night would end up being more significant than I realized."

* * *

We arrive at Luna Nova just as the sun was setting on the horizon, coating everything in a soft golden glow that honestly just makes the school feel all the more magical. We spent all day in town; exploring around, taking pictures in memorable places, we even had lunch in a little restaurant and afterwards ate some ice cream. Surprisingly enough, we ended up having a pretty good time, mostly because Karen and the twins made some kind of truce shortly after my improvised show. I have a feeling Croix scolded them while I wasn't looking, but I can't actually be sure. So, anyways, we all got along (kinda) and by the end of the day I thought my idea wasn't so bad after all.

However, just as we're entering school grounds and the twins say goodbye in order to go to their own rooms… or to do some mischief, most likely, I can't help thinking I wished I had spent more time alone with Croix.

Don't get me wrong; I did like how we all were able to interact together by the end, but… there's just something about being alone with Croix that feels _different_. Something addictive, something that makes me feel like I want to spend even more time with her, to get to know her even better.

I guess it maybe has to do with just how different she is from the rest. How mysterious, how cool, how smart, how… _awesome_. I can't stop obsessing about her, really, and so, before I can't think better about what I'm doing, I tell my roommates I'm going to escort Croix back to her room, and that they should go ahead without me, leaving me alone with my friend.

"I know you're planning something, Chariot." She says as soon as my roommates are out of earshot. "I _am_ the one who usually escorts you to your room, after all."

"Maybe I'm just trying to be nice." I retort, but upon receiving a raised eyebrow from my best friend, I end up relenting. "Okay, fine! I was hoping we could do something more to celebrate."

"Just the two of us?" She smiles. "Count me in."

"But I haven't even told you what I have in mind."

"Doesn't matter, Cherry. It's _your_ celebration, and I owe you for giving me the idea for my gauntlet, so…" She shrugs, like it's not a big deal, even though she's being uncharacteristically nice to me. Plus, I did notice something that she said.

"Wait… Cherry?" I raise an eyebrow, becoming even more confused and surprised when she sputters and blushes, deviating her gaze.

"I-I… it's just… uhm… I've been calling you that in my head for a while." She admits, blushing even more. "You know, since your hair and your eyes are cherry colored… and also your name kinda sounds like Cherry. You know, Chariot, Cherry. They're similar." She keeps avoiding eye contact and looking all nervous and awkward, like she's ashamed of her little slip-up, which I think is really cute. Still, I can't let an opportunity to tease her pass, right?

"So… we're doing nicknames now?" I say mischievously. "Uhm… I wonder what I should call you then. Maybe I'll go with Croy."

"Don't you dare!" She exclaims angrily, immediately forgoing her shy behavior. "I'm tired of correcting everyone from that mispronunciation."

"Well then, what about Crocs?" I continue my merciless teasing.

"Chariot." She gives me warning glare that I completely ignore.

"Oh, I know! I'll call you Croix-ssant! They're fluffy like your hair, and can be both salty and sweet, just like you!"

"Okay, that's it! I'm going to my room." She says as she starts walking away.

"No, wait! Croix! Please, I'll call you something else! What about Croix-codile? Or Croix-ssant? Wait, I already said that. Uhm… Crossword then? Which one do you prefer?"

"I hate you so much right now, I hope you know that."

* * *

So, despite Croix's protests because of my teasing, and after promising a thousand times that I won't call her Croix-ssant or any other "dumb" nickname (as she rudely said), I managed to convince her to spend some more time with me. And of course it's after curfew, and I took her to a restricted area on campus, because that's just how I am.

The North Campus of Luna Nova has always been one of my favorite places in the school, not only because Arcas lives there, but because the ruins feel very mysterious and magical. And also the stars look pretty from there, which is actually the real reason I thought it'd be fun to come with Croix.

"Stay close. It can be easy to get lost." I say as we start making our way through the road that's barely visible in the dark forest. I decide to take her hand to make sure she doesn't get too far away, but just after I do this little action she trips on her feet and would've probably fallen if I wasn't holding her. "Careful."

"R-right." She sounds nervous for some reason. Her palm is also getting sweaty, now that I think about it.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark." I tease.

"N-no, of course not!" She quickly protests. "I just… don't want that damn bear to eat me. That's all." She then deviates her gaze, looking to the ground instead of me.

"Really? You're afraid of Arcas? But he's adorable!"

"Yeah. Adorable. Right." She says sarcastically, but I giggle, knowing she'll change her opinion once I introduce them properly… speaking of which, it looks like we're here!

"Hey, Arcas, come here boy!" I call.

"Maybe he's sleeping." Croix says hopefully, but just then we hear a roar and some heavy steps, and then my polar bear comes out of the ruined building, pretty much running towards us, and I feel Croix's grip on my hand tighten.

"Arcas! Hi, it's been a while, hasn't it?" The bear stops just in front of me and, while I pet him, he starts smelling me with his big, wet, nose. I know what he wants, but I'm afraid he'll be disappointed. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't bring any snacks for you." He then goes and starts smelling Croix too, more curious than anything, but my friend still takes a step back in fear.

"Maybe he thinks _I'_ _m_ the snack." She says, glaring at my hairy friend.

"Arcas, this is Croix." I say, ignoring Croix's rather rude remark. "She's a friend, so please don't eat her, alright?"

Arcas huffs in what I can only hope is agreement, before going to lay down on the ground, as he always does when I come to visit during the night. Usually I'd use him as a pillow while I lay here to watch the stars, but for Croix's sake I decide to throw myself to the grassy ground just a couple of meters away from where my bear rests. My friend, on the other hand, sits carefully by my side, all the while keeping her eyes on Arcas.

"He's harmless, I promise." I say as I tug at her sleeve. "Now come lay with me, will you?"

"I-I… uh…" She stammers, apparently still nervous despite my reassurances, and look at everywhere but me. "I'm fine here. Really."

"Croix." I whine, tugging harder. "Please. How are we going to stargaze if you don't lay down?"

"You know, if you wanted to stargaze we could've done so at the _Astronomy_ Tower." She huffs in annoyance.

"It's not the same! Now come on before I start coming up with nicknames for you! What about… Croix-chet?"

"Fine! Geez, fine, I'll lay down! Just please stop with the stupid nicknames, Cherry."

"Hey, you started it."

And so, she lays down next to me, but I do notice she leaves quite a bit of space between us, so I slowly inch my way towards her, until our sides are flush against each other and I can feel the comforting heat emanating from her body, at which she turns and looks at me with amusement.

"And just what do you think you're doing?"

"It's cold." I shrug, and she chuckles before returning her gaze to the starry sky.

"Well, autumn's just around the corner."

"I've always loved autumn, you know? Especially October, because my aunt would always bring me to Luna Nova during the Samhain Festival."

"You like that thing?" She looks at me like I just grew another head. And honestly I can't blame her.

"At first I did, but it got very repetitive after a few years." I admit, and she nods thoughtfully.

"Well, I'm not really one to speak. I got the title of Moonlit Witch last year."

"It was you?!" I exclaim, sitting up so I can look directly at her face. "Croix, what you did was absolutely amazing! I didn't even know you could conjure entire buildings using just a magic circle."

"It was actually a mixture of illusion magic, conjuration and technology." She smiles, and I can practically see how much her ego is growing at my praise, but I honestly don't care. Hers was one of the best performances I've seen during the usually dull festival. "Honestly, I was simply lucky I was given the Conjuration Magic event; most first years get cleaning duty or something."

"I hope they'll at least give me the Flying event, given I won the race." I comment, laying down on the ground once more. "But Finnelan will probably do everything to keep me out of the Festival, least I burn down the scenery or something."

"Yeah, that'd be wise… ow!" My friend complains when I puncher shoulder.

"You deserve it. You are supposed to support me!"

"Honestly, it'd be better if you're given Scenario Design or something like that. Less work for you." She shrugs.

"But I want people to see what I can do!" I protest. Because I know that here in Luna Nova I'd be able to do such wondrous things! Unlike Blytonbury, where there's no nearly enough magic. But here? Here it'd surely be an amazing spectacle.

"You want to be Moonlit Witch?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Nah, that's just a fancy title that most times isn't even earned."

"Hey!"

"I said _most_ times!" I clarify. "Come on, Finnelan and Babcock would never vote for me, even if the Headmistress does."

"Heh. That's true." She chuckles. "But I do think you could have a chance, you know? Maybe in your third year, and if you're given the Illusion Magic event." I hum in agreement.

"I wonder what I'll get this year. I sure hope it's not Sacrifice Duty." I make a face in disgust; that's always been the worst part of the Festival, and the poor girls chosen for Sacrifice always end up covered in ghostly goo. Eugh!

"I could tell you right now." My friend says. "I did get an A+ in Astrology, and the sky is clear enough tonight to make an accurate reading."

"I prefer not to know the future." I quickly answer, shutting that thought down.

"Why?" She scoffs.

"Because then everything is a surprise. Everything's new and exciting!"

"Yeah, I was expecting an answer like that." Croix shakes her head in amusement. "But then why did you want to stargaze?"

"Oh, I never liked predicting the future, sure, but my aunt took me stargazing from time to time, and she'd always tell me the names of the constellations, and the stories behind them."

"You mean the only thing about Astrology that doesn't actually serve any purpose, which is why I only memorize it for the exam and then forget it?" Now, I don't need to be a genius to know Croix's making fun of me, but I decide to ignore her. Because, sure, the way they teach us this in school is dumb and boring, but… there's something magical about laying down, watching stars and telling stories that were invented thousands of years ago.

"Look at that group of three stars, you know what they're called?" I point towards the sky, where the most easily identifiable constellation for me is.

"Something about onions?" She laughs.

"Orion's belt." I roll my eyes playfully. "Also known as 'Les trois Rois Mages', in France."

"Oh! The three Wise Men or something? From the Christian religion, right?"

"Yeah, but the Orion constellation itself is of Greek origin." I explain. "He was a blind giant who loved hunting, and often joined the goddess Artemis when she hunt."

"Artemis was a real witch though, wasn't she?" She asks, but I honestly don't know anything about history, so I just shrug. "She was the one who started the annual Wild Hunts of rowdy spirits."

"Really? Did you know she actually has her own constellation?" I say, pointing towards a group of stars that honestly look more like a spiral than anything. "Although under her Roman name, Diana."

"Ah, Diana! Yes, she was the one I was thinking about. She was a witch who lived under the Roman era, and dedicated her life to hunt down wild spirits, but the locals mistook her for the reincarnation of the Greek goddess Artemis." She laughs. "Now _those_ were good times for being a witch!"

"You're very good at history, aren't you?" I say, impressed she managed to remember such facts, while I struggle so much in the exams because I can't even recall who founded Luna Nova.

"Chariot, I'm Croix Meridies." She answers not-so-modestly. "I'm good at everything!"

I just laugh at her narcissistic attitude, because honestly it's totally earned, and then we fall in silence for a few moments. But we're here to stargaze, right? And Croix apparently knows everything about divination but very little about the constellations themselves. Well, it just so happens I know one that'd be perfect to show her!

"You know? Your own name is that of a constellation."

"Uh… what?" She looks at me like I'm crazy.

"Really, Croix means cross, right? And Meridies means south. Funnily enough, there is a constellation named Croix du Sud, Southern Cross, which is only visible in the southern hemisphere."

"So… not here." Croix sighs, obviously disappointed.

"No… but it has its counterpart, Cigne, also known as Croix du Nord."

Croix seems to choke on air for a moment, staring at me with disbelieving wide eyes as she coughs trying to regain her composure. But I honestly don't get what she's so worked up about.

"Croix… _du Nord_ , you say?" She manages to say with a strained voice.

"Uhuh." I nod. "Look, it's that one! The one that kinda looks like a flying swan, or a weird-shaped cross."

"I-I see…" She stutters, still sounding nervous for some reason.

"My aunt's name is actually based on a star in that constellation, Daneb." I point to said star, the brightest one in that zone. "It's some kind of tradition in my family, actually; naming the girls after constellations or stars."

"So… you're named after a constellation too?" She asks, sounding a little bit more normal now.

"Yeah! Le Grand Chariot, the Big dipper!" I say, again pointing towards it. Croix just hums as she apparently searches for it with her eyes, but she seems to have problems finding it.

"You know? I've always had trouble identifying the Big Dipper. I often mistake it with the Little Dipper." She admits, scrunching her eyebrows.

"Oh, but they're so easy to differentiate! Look." I point towards one of the brightest stars in the sky. "That one is Polaris, the Northern Star, and together with those other six stars, they form an arch, which is the Little Dipper."

"Ah… yes, I think I see them." She smiles.

"Good, now. See that other bright star?" I point towards it and pause my explanation until she nods. "Well, that's Arcturus. See? If you trace an imaginary arc, Arcturus leads you to the seven stars that form the Big Dipper."

"Wait… what did you just say?"

I tilt my head to the side, confused. Surely Croix understood my explanation, right? I mean, it's basic Astrology! But now that I think about it she sounded more surprised than anything.

"Arcturus _leads_ _you_ to the seven stars…" She then mumbles, mostly to herself, as she stares blankly to the sky, apparently lost in thought. "Of course! Chariot, I got it!" She then exclaims, sitting up and pretty much beaming at the stars above us.

"Huh?" Well, now I'm confused. Sure, identifying the Big Dipper correctly is fun and all, but Croix is making such a big deal out of this.

"The Claiomnh Solais, the rod of seven stars… it's not _literally_ in the stars; it's in Arcturus!"

"The… _what_?"

"The legendary rod! The one that is capable of unlocking the Grand Triskelion and bringing magic back to the world." She explains, finally looking towards me. She has such an enthusiastic expression too. I don't think I've ever seen her quite like this… she looks adorable, honestly. Even if I know she'd kill me if I said it out loud.

"Ah… right. I kinda remember you mentioning something like that." I don't remember the whole story behind it, of course, but there was a wish involved, right? And something about magic dying? I'm not all too sure.

"Well, I've been searching for it like crazy, reading tons and tons of books, and every time I thought I had a lead, it was wrong." She continues, apparently not noticing how truly lost I am, but I can't really blame her, can I? Her face is so happy it looks like her biggest wish just came true. "But the answer was right in front of me the whole time; the rod of seven stars is in Arcturus Forest."

"Great." I fake a smile. Gosh, that sounds all too complicated for me. I'm so glad Croix is the one who's trying to revive magic, because I would probably just make everything worse. But Croix? She's so smart she will surely get this legendary rod before I can even comprehend what's going on.

"Well… yes and no." She makes a grimace. "You see, Arcturus Forest is the magical forest that surrounds Luna Nova."

"Oh, so we just have to walk into it and get the thing?" I smile. That sounds easy enough!

"No. The forest is so dangerous there's a magical barrier preventing anyone from entering. Including us."

"But we collect our ingredients for potions class there." I protest.

"That's just a small portion of the forest. Far less ancient and dangerous." She explains. "To enter the core of the forest, I'd have to go through a Leyline and use a spell to break the seal."

"But… you can do it, right?" I mean, she's Croix! Surely a silly barrier won't prevent her from fulfilling her dream. Even if said dream _is_ reviving magic… which kinda makes my own dream look silly and childish in comparison. But hey! We can't all be Croix.

"Sure…" She pauses, thinking. "I'll need some time to prepare, of course; do some research, brew some potions, buy food for the trip… Considering how big it is, it could take me several days to find it too, which means our little break after the Samhain Festival will probably be my best chance."

"Great! I'll help you in any way I can." I assure her, sitting up as well. After all, I'm not just her friend, but also her assistant. I'm doubly obligated! Plus, making a friend's dream come true, especially one as beautiful as that, is truly a pleasure to me. "Maybe I should practice my Murowa spell, if the forest is really as dangerous as you said."

"Uh… yeah, you're not coming." She deadpans.

"Why not?" I puff my cheeks in anger. "You just said it's dangerous. You shouldn't go alone!"

"But… you… I mean…" She trails off, looking to the side, obviously unwilling to say out loud what she no doubt has in mind.

"You think I'd be hindrance to you." I don't even bother to phrase it like a question, or to dissimulate the pain I feel upon coming to such realization.

"No!" She immediately protests, but then looks to the side and frowns. "But, you know… illusion magic won't serve against monsters." She then gives me an apologetic expression that really just manages to ager me more.

"Then teach me other spells! Teach me how to defend myself!" I retort angrily. "I want to help you. I'm not going to let you go into a dangerous forest full of magical creatures all by yourself! I don't care if you like it or not, I'm coming with you." I cross my arms with finality, giving her the sternest glare I can.

"You're crazy." She just chuckles and shakes her head. "Would you really risk your own life to help me fulfill my own stupid dream?"

"Well… that's what friends do, right?" My honest response seems to catch her off-guard, as her eyes widen before turning to look at the ground, apparently contemplating my response for a moment.

"I… suppose you might be right." She admits at the end, looking back at me with a small smile. By itself it wouldn't be anything special, but the way she looks at me… I don't think I've ever seen such a soft expression in her face. So happy, and pure, so… I don't know! It's almost like she really, _really_ , cares about me. As if she's, dare I say, _thankful_ to have me.

"So, that means…?" I can barely suppress an exited squeal.

" _We_ are going to Arcturus Forest."

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I hope you liked that little piece of Charoix cuteness (** **now that I think about it, does it count like a date?** **) because from this point on things will get rather complicated and perilous. Anyways, thanks for reading, and please leave a review if you enjoyed this; I really do appreciate them and they motivate me to keep writing. So, again, thank you and see you in two weeks! :D**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	18. The forbidden forest

**Chapter 17: The forbidden forest.**

Diana Cavendish was the type of person who liked to take advantage of every second of the day to do something productive. Either studying, doing homework or helping other people. Regardless, she very rarely did something that could be considered "leisure".

Now, helping Akko was productive, in her opinion, but when that help consisted solely of watching as the other girl performed magic (or tried to anyways) that had nothing to do with school, she couldn't help but feeling like she should be doing something else with her time. Which was probably why she had brought a book with her even when she knew there was no way she'd be able to concentrate enough to read.

"Look, Diana! I'm a centaur." Akko called, showing off her transformation magic skills, which were not doubt improving, since she practiced the spell so much. And surely enough she looked like a centaur… except the lower part of her body resembled that of a donkey, instead of a horse.

"A partial transformation of your body. Impressive." The blonde smiled. "But you should work with the difference between horses and donkeys."

"Huh?" The girl tilted her head, confused, before looking down at her body and blushing, realizing what Diana had meant. "R-right." She stuttered canceling the spell before going to sit on the bench next to her friend. She was getting tired, after all. One hour of continuously casting spells surely was exhausting.

"Diana?" She called after a few seconds of silence, though she was looking towards the sky, where the setting sun painted the clouds in vibrant oranges and pinks.

"Yes, Akko?" She asked, hoping the Japanese witch wasn't planning some sort of mischief.

"Do you think I could be a Moonlit Witch?" Akko finally teared her gaze from the clouds and turned to regard her friend, her red eyes looking tired and hesitant, almost like she expected a negative response.

"Akko." Diana smiled. "Honestly? You deserved the title more than me. If it was in my hands, I would have given it to you."

"Don't say that! I'm sure whatever you did was amazing." Akko protested because, after all, even if she wished she'd won the title the previous year, she knew she hadn't exactly played by the rules, which was the reason Diana had won instead. But it didn't matter! She still had two more chances.

"But it wasn't as impressive as liberating a centuries old ghost." Diana retorted. "Plus, your use of metamorphosis magic was… _unique_." There was really no other way of describing Akko's strange transformations; they weren't perfect, sure, but they were funny and charming.

"That's why I'm practicing." Akko informed her. "I want this year's presentation to be even better!"

"I see…" Diana hummed. "But the Samhain Festival is the last day of October. We still have a few months before they even tell us what we'll be doing."

"Doesn't matter! Whatever they give me, I'll find the way of using metamorphosis magic, so they'll have no choice but giving me the title of Moonlit Witch! Like Chariot!" She shoot her one of her bright smiles that never failed to take Diana's breath away. Seriously, she was almost sure that might be some sort of magic! But she still took note of what Akko had said, which reminded her…

"Didn't you say professor Chariot would be helping you with your homework today?"

"Huh?" Akko scratched her head, trying to remember if such information was correct. Then she realized she was supposed to meet with her teacher around six, and it was already seven! "I gotta go! Sorry, Diana, I'll see you later!"

And with that, the girl sprinted away, leaving only a trail of dust behind. Diana smiled to herself and got up to retire as well. Honestly she couldn't comprehend how such a disastrous girl could evoke such an intense feeling of affection on her, but she wasn't going to question it either, as it was better than when the two would antagonize each other for the silliest reasons.

But anyways, her moment of leisure with Atsuko Kagari had come to an end, and now she had to go back to attending her responsibilities. Still, it was nice while it lasted.

Although a selfish part of her wished she could spend even more time with the object of her affections.

* * *

Akko whined for the thousand time in less than a minute… which was actually very impressive. Probably a new record. The reason? The history of magic wasn't exactly her strongest point. She was very bad at names, and dates, and remembering boring events, and whatnot. But at least she knew the basics now. Surely that should count for something?

Ugh! What she'd give to be practicing magic for the Samhain Festival instead! Even if it was equally frustrating, it was at least fun and she saw more purpose on it.

"Akko, please concentrate." The professor requested when she noticed her student's expression was that of someone whose mind isn't quite in the here and now.

"I'm sorry." She sighed. "I just can't remember who invented the… uh… what was it called again?" She then asked sheepishly.

" _Argentum caldron_." Ursula explained, displaying way more patience than Akko deserved, honestly. "It's basically just a cauldron made of silver and infused with various magical spells, which makes it able to brew very powerful potions without breaking."

"Right. That." Akko laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, but I really, _really_ , can't remember. My mind is kinda… elsewhere."

"Something's worrying you." Ursula said, looking intently at her student's face as if searching for any cue that could reveal the answer. Akko decided to be honest with her.

"Well…" She averted her gaze. "I was thinking about what you told me the other day, you know? The story. You mentioned the Samhain Festival, and I just thought I should start practicing now if I want to have a chance at being the Moonlit Witch."

"The Moonlit Witch title is truly overrated." She sighed, but before Akko could protest, she quickly kept talking. "More so, by merit alone you should have won it last year, but didn't because the decision is rather subjective." She then paused, smiling at her student with one of those gentle expressions that never failed to calm down the hyperactive girl and make her feel at home. "That said, I have no doubt you'll win it somehow, if you really put your mind to it."

"Thanks, sensei. That means a lot." Akko smiled back, feeling better knowing her teacher and idol believed in her. "But I want to know… how did you do it? How did you become Moonlit Witch?"

"A-ah!" The professor deviated her gaze, blushing and smiling awkwardly. "That is a very… _complicated_ story. Quite long, too. And you wouldn't understand it right now because there are still a lot of things I haven't told you."

That was a no if Akko had ever heard one. But even if she knew her teacher didn't want to share the story right now, she kept inquiring.

"Why? What event were you given?"

"You mean when I won the title of Moonlit Witch? Metamorphosis Magic." She answered. "But in my first year I got to decorate the statue of the Great Witch Jennifer."

"Wait… so you didn't win the title on your first year?" Akko couldn't help sounding surprised. After all, the Chariot card of the Moonlit Witch said nothing of the sort, and the Wiki didn't have any dates, considering how secret Luna Nova's archive was.

"No." Ursula shrugged. "Not that I wanted to." She chuckled. "Besides, I was too busy helping Croix prepare for our expedition to the Arcturus forest. I wouldn't have had time to put on a good show anyways."

"So you did go after the festival?" Akko asked, excited.

"That's right."

"And you got the Shiny Rod?!" At this point Akko's eyes were sparkling like a pair of stars with how excited she was to hear the story.

"After a very dangerous adventure, yes." The professor answered, already knowing she'd now have to tell the story to her student… and probably leave the homework for later.

"Can you tell me?!"

"Alright." She sighed. Honestly, she couldn't deny anything to this girl, could she? "You see… our little adventure started the night after the festival." She began explaining, already closing he books and going to get some tea, since she knew this could take a few hours. "The faculty was sleeping, too tired after such a draining event, and Samhain break started the next day, so no one would notice two missing students. It was the perfect time to sneak away."

* * *

"So… everything's ready?" Croix asks, watching me rummage through my backpack.

"I think so?" I answer, but it comes out as a question. I don't' have to look behind me to know that Croix just rolled her eyes.

"Chariot, this is serious!" She snaps, as worked up about this as always. "We've been planning this trip for months, we can't…!"

"Relax, Croix." I laugh, turning to look at her. "I know how important this Triskelion thing is to you, and I'm almost sure I packed everything we need."

"Arcturus is dangerous! Even the most skilled witches can get lost in it." Croix reminds me for the hundredth time, making me huff in feigned exasperation. "Are you absolutely certain that you packed all the potions I gave you, as well as food and fresh water?"

"Yes, Croix. Believe it or not, I _can_ be responsible." I answer, crossing my arms over my chest and pouting at my friend, who seems to calm down slightly at my answer, softening her gaze as she places her hand over my shoulder.

"I know you can, Cherry." She says affectionately. "I'm just worried. I want to get the Claiomh Solais, but not if I endanger us in the process."

"Please, we're like the best students at Luna Nova! What could possibly happen?" I reassure her, not so mad anymore now that I understand her concern.

" _I_ am the best student at Luna Nova. You're still the dunce." She jokes, but her laughter dies when I punch her arm lightly. "Okay, sorry. You are the best. My bad." I only roll my eyes at her attempt at humor and instead grab my backpack and put it on my shoulders.

"Shall we go, then?"

"Sure." She nods, but then seems to remember something and pauses, getting out her wand. "Wait, hold on. We need better clothes."

"Better clothes?" I parrot, looking down at my Luna Nova robe. Sure, it isn't the most comfortable thing ever, but it's not like we can wear something else while flying.

"Magically enchanted clothes, to be precise." She answers. "If done correctly, this spell gives more power and protection against both magical and non-magical threats to the user."

Before I can ask what spell that would be, she flicks her wand and pronounces the words.

" _Metamorphie vestesse_." And with that, our Luna Nova uniforms flicker with light before turning white, which is the only observable difference. But, there's also something more, something like… a warm feeling surrounding me. A feeling of protection and comfort. And power. I feel with more energy than usual, even if it's the middle of the night.

"Wow!" I exclaim in awe, and though a proud smile appears on Croix's face, she dismisses it like it's nothing.

"It's a very simple spell, really. Even _you_ could do it." When I glare at her because of her mean comment, she chuckles. "You know I'm just teasing." Then, she goes to grab her own backpack and her broom. "But we should go now, least someone sees us."

"Alright." I nod and quickly follow her out of her secret lair and towards the Leyline that will take us into a very dangerous and ancient forest. Honestly, the things I do for this girl!

* * *

We arrive to the town early in the morning, and we wait there for the sun to rise, since Croix said it's dangerous to go into the Arcturus forest while it's still dark. Then, we enter the Leyline again and, after a quick enchantment by Croix, we arrive to our real destiny: the forest of Arcturus. I've never been here before, since it's forbidden for the students, and even the most experienced witches would hesitate before entering, but my first impression after we arrive is that it looks kinda like a normal forest. At least from above.

There's a thin mist near the ground though, and the trees are all covered in moss and ferns, and their branches are twisted in weird angles. The sky is also cloudy, despite it being clear before. All in all, this place does give me a scary vibe.

"Keep your eyes open." Croix says, making me tear my gaze from the green scenery before us. "The place we are searching for must look like some kind of tower."

I nod in acknowledgment and immediately set to the task of scanning the horizon to find the tower in question. One would think a structure like that would be easily spotted, but this place is _huge_ , extending as far as the eye can see, and the mist and clouds don't help much either.

Suddenly though, something catches my eye. It's not exactly a tower, but it is taller than the trees, and has a bright orange color. As I get closer, I realize it's some kind of tree with blue branches and orange leaves, swinging in the breeze. Oh! And it also has apple-like fruits of a very shiny pink color! And they look so yummy! Maybe I could try one? I bet they are something you can't find anywhere else.

"Chariot!" Croix's frantic scream snaps me out of my contemplation, just when I was extending my arm to take the fruit. That's when I realize I've wandered away from her and descended to get close to this tree without realizing it. But why does she look so scared? And why is she rushing towards me?

I only have a second to ponder all of this before I hear a swishing sound and turn around in time to evade one of the tree's branches, that's apparently taken a life of its own and is now trying to kill me. Heart pumping fast with adrenaline, I duck and fly through the branches, trying to get up and out of range from this thing, but no matter where I go, it changes positions in order to block all of my attempts at escaping.

"Chariot!" I hear my name being called again before I feel one of the branches making contact with my back in a very painful whip-like motion. Instantly, I'm thrown out of my broom and towards the center of this tree's top… except it's not a tree at all. There where the branches sprout is a _huge_ mouth with hundreds of sword-sized teeth organized in multiple lines, going as far inside this thing's mouth as the eye can see. And I'm falling right into it.

I frantically try to grab onto something, but there's nothing nearly close enough for me to hold onto. The branches have all moved away in order to allow me to fall without any interference.

My stomach twists in fear as I quickly try to reach for my wand, even if I know I won't have time to cast any spell, but just when I'm about to become this monster's food, something grabs my hand and stops my descent, instead flying away from that thing. I look up to see that, as expected, my rescuer is Croix.

"Croix!" I exclaim, knowing I've never been happier to see her.

"G-get on the broom. Now!" She says, her voice strained with the effort of holding me. So, knowing that my nerdy friend won't last more than a few seconds carrying me, I rush to climb on the broom, which is easier said than done considering we're flying as fast as we can in order to get away from that beast. But at last I manage to do so, proceeding then to hold Croix's waist tightly so I don't fall off.

Just when I think the worst has passed, and I can finally get to catch my breath, the "leaves" of the monstrous tree detach themselves from the branches and fly off towards us, as if making a last-ditch effort to capture me. My eyes widen and I hold Croix closer, trying to get some reassurance. But she is tense, her back rigid and her muscles hard, which isn't reassuring at all.

"Chariot, I need you to fend off those things. I'll try to get away from them." She says urgently leaning against the broomstick in an attempt to go faster.

"But they are just leaves… right?" I say, more to myself than to Croix, even as I pull out my wand. I know her answer before she voices it.

"Of course not! And that thing isn't a tree either. They… I don't know what those leaves are, or what they do, but it can't be good!"

Wow. Croix admitted she doesn't know something? Hell will freeze over. But now is really not the time to be thinking about that, is it?

Damn! These things are getting close. Too close. I try sending a gust of wind in their direction, in order to switch their trajectory, but apparently it's not strong enough, and only managed to delay them slightly. Then I do the next logical think; burn them. And boy does it not go as planned!

I cast a fire spell, hoping the leaves will disintegrate as they pass through it, but all that happens is that they coat themselves with the flames and keep flying towards us. I barely have any time to process what's happening before they reach the end of our broom and lit the twigs on fire. I wince, trying to remember some water spell, but my mind is spinning and all I can think, over and over again, is: "I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die!"

My stomach drops when we start falling, and I'm barely aware that I'm screaming so hard my throat burns. All I can do is hold onto Croix like my life depended on it, but in these desperate moments, I know even that won't help me. We're truly going to die! And it's all my fault. I wasn't ready to enter the dangerous forest of Arcturus.

" _Palais_ _capma!_ " As soon as I hear those words come out of Croix's mouth, our perilous descent towards the ground is stopped and we end up being suspended in the air, surrounded by a magical bubble that gently starts lowering us to the ground. Yet, I still clutch tightly to my friend, fearing I'll fall to the ground if I let go, even when I know that's not how this spell works.

But when my feet touch the ground, I still don't loosen my grip, too shaken by everything that happened, and half-expecting to be attacked by something else at any second. I don't even realize I'm crying until I hear Croix's concerned voice.

"Chariot? Are you hurt?" I can only shake my head as sobs continue to rock my body. I don't even know _why_ I'm crying, if because I'm scared from the attack, or because I'm relieved we're okay, or simply because I'm worried we won't ever be able to find the Claiomh Solais, much less get out of this forest. Maybe all of that and more. All that I know is that right now I can't stop crying, and I need to feel Croix's comforting warmth in order to calm down somewhat.

"H-hey, it's okay." She says in an awkward tone, hesitantly placing a hand on my back in a comforting manner. "We're safe now."

I only nod in response and try to breathe in and out. After all, I can't really be of any help while bawling my eyes out on Croix's shirt, and I highly doubt this place is anything remotely resembling of a normal forest. I need to calm down and help Croix! I won't let her down. I won't be a hindrance.

And I need to stop making her uncomfortable. I know how much she dislikes human contact, unless it's initiated by herself. Damn, she must really be regretting bringing me here. This whole situation is my fault after all.

"Croix?" I say once I'm composed enough to speak somewhat normally and let go of her.

"Y-yeah?" Her voice sounds strained, and she pointedly avoids looking at my eyes. Her posture is also stiff, and she has her fists clenched tightly in frustration.

"How will we get out of here?" I ask, looking at the burnt pieces of her broom.

"I don't know." She admits with a grimace. "But I guess we should find a Leyline portal, and hope we can open it."

"On foot?!" I almost shriek, trembling in fear just by the mere thought of wandering around this perilous forest for hours.

"We don't have a choice." Croix sighs, obviously disliking the idea as much as I do.

"And what about the rod?" I ask despite myself. That's the whole reason we came here, after all. We can't just leave without finding it!

"It's too dangerous." She frowns. "And our supplies won't last us more than a couple of days, even if we eat only the bare minimum. We need to get out of here before it's too late." She tries to conceal it, but her voice still sounds somewhat angry, and her jaw looks tense. I know this meant a lot for her, and now she's being forced to quit.

"But… your dream…" I start, now knowing if I should really be convincing her of continuing her pursue of this crazy task. But I can't just accept we came all this way for nothing!

"I _know_." She clenches her teeth and closes her eyes as she speaks, like it physically hurts her to pronounce the words. "I do want to get the Claiomh Solais, but I won't put you… _us_ in danger because of it."

"Are you sure?" I ask with a small voice, feeling very guilty.

"Yes." She nods with determination. "Now come on, let's get going."

"Wait!" I stop her before she can turn around. She just gives me a questioning look. "I'm sorry." I lower my gaze to the ground, too ashamed to look at her eyes, and too afraid to find the disappointment reflecting on her face.

"It wasn't your fault, Cherry." She answers with a gentle voice as she places a hand over my shoulder. I look up, surprised when I find her smiling at me. A genuine smile, devoid of smugness or mock malice for once.

"B-but…" I still try to protest.

"Chariot." She cuts me off firmly. "Let's go. I don't want to be here when night falls."

As she turns around and starts walking away, I realize I can't really argue with that, and quickly hurry after her.

* * *

We've been walking for hours now, and the sun has started to set on the horizon. It's getting cold here, and there have started being suspicious sounds around. I feel like we're being watched. And I bet Croix feels it too, because we haven't stopped to rest once, even if we've already been attacked by monsters a couple of times.

I know we need to get out of here before it's dark and things get even more dangerous, but I'm hungry, and my feet hurt, and my head is also starting to feel a little bit sore. I wished we could rest for even a minute.

Croix seems to have the same idea though, and she looks even more exhausted than I, so it's not really that much of a surprise when she stops and turns to look at me with a serious expression.

"We should set up camp." She simply says.

"W-what?!" I exclaim, not liking the idea of sleeping in this forest tonight.

"I don't want to spend the night here either, but it's very unlikely we'll be able to find a Leyline before it's completely dark out here. And in that case, our best chance at surviving is to set camp here and wait till morning to keep searching." She says all of this in a collected tone, as if wanting to transmit some of her calm to me, but I can't stop the dread from creeping into my stomach. Still, I realize what she's saying is true, so I swallow up my fear and put on a brave face for her.

"Okay then." I give her a tiny smile. "Should we prepare some sort of shelter?"

"You do that." She nods. "It should be easy if you use magic to control some of the vines and make a tent with them."

"What will you do?" I ask curious.

"I'll go find some lumber to make a fire. And magical herbs to burn on it and help fend off evil spirits."

"Yes, good idea!" I agree in a heartbeat, even if the thought of being alone here for even a second is more than a little unsettling.

"Okay." She turns around to leave, but stops before taking even one step. "And Chariot?" She turns her head just enough to look at me. "Don't wander off. And don't touch anything." I quickly nod, promising myself that I'll obey her this time. "And if there's any danger, send me a signal."

"I will, don't worry." I reassure her.

"Me? Worried for you? Please, don't make me laugh." She scoffs, but the gentle smile and the fondness of her tone of voice let me know she's joking, so I smile at her. "Just… take care." Is the last thing she says before walking off, disappearing between the green scenery of the forest.

* * *

I set to work immediately, not having any problem building a small shelter for the two of us by using plant-controlling magic. And then all I have to do is sit there and wait. And wait. And keep waiting. How long has it been anyways? And hour? Possibly more? What if something happened to Croix? Should I go check?

I start getting restless and worried as the last rays of sunlight disappear from the horizon. I'm sure it shouldn't be taking her this long, but if something had happened to her she would have sent a signal, right?

Unless she couldn't.

Uhm… maybe I _should_ go check the surrounding area. Just in case she's hurt or unconscious. It won't take long, and I won't go too far away. Just to check the perimeter around our camp.

With that in mind, I exit the shelter, leaving our backpacks behind because carrying them would only slow me down, and use light magic to mark one of the nearby trees with luminous sparkles that adhere to its bark. That way, I'll be able to find it even in complete darkness. Then, I start walking in the direction Croix went, hoping to find her still collecting wood around here, but not such luck. Getting more and more worried by the second, I keep walking, my clammy hands gripping my wand so tightly that my fingers turn numb.

This place is a new level of scary, especially at night. There are strange sounds all around me, and not precisely the kind you'd expect to hear at a normal forest. Sure, I hear owls ululating in the distance, but their voices are oddly unsettling. Like something bigger is imitating those noises. There's also the occasional snapping of twigs, only it seems to come from every direction at once. And the wind really sounds like it's lamenting and crying, not just passing through the canopy of trees.

My heart feels like it's trying to get out of my chest, and my stomach twists painfully at every new noise. I start getting jumpy too, but just when I think I should better go back to my shelter now, something comes out of the bushes, startling me so much I end up tripping and falling on my back.

"Aaaaahhh!" I scream, aiming my wand to whatever it is that almost scared me to death… until I realize it's none other than the girl I've been searching for.

"Chariot?" She asks, surprised.

"Croix!" I exclaim relieved as I launch myself off the ground and into her arms, hugging her tightly. She's so surprised, she lets go of the twigs she has holding and takes a step back, trying to remain in a standing position.

"I thought I told you not to wander off!" She scolds me, and I let go of her, shooting her a smile and not feeling the slightest bit intimidated by her reprimanding attitude.

"You were gone for too long. I was getting worried." I explain.

"Fine, whatever. Let's just get back to our camp." She sighs, resigning herself to just accept I'm not all that good at following orders.

"Sure, it's this wa…" My voice dies as I turn around and realize I can't see the luminous tree anymore. Weird, I swear it was there a minute ago. Confused, I scan our surroundings until I find a dim source of light, coming from far away in the distance. On the opposite direction to where I thought it was. Oh well, I guess I got disoriented.

"Over there." I amend sheepishly, pointing to the source of light.

"A luminescent spell, huh? Well done." Croix praises me as she starts walking in that direction. I smile contently at her compliment and hurry up to walk at her side.

I feel better now that I've found her, and it has little to do with her magic abilities, even though that's a big plus. No, her company is comforting to me; I feel like, as long as we're together, we can take on any challenge and be okay. You hear me, stupid forest? You can throw all your scary noises at me, I'm not afraid anymore! I have Croix!

And so we keep walking, encountering no danger whatsoever along the way, which is a relief because I believe I speak for the both of us when I say we can barely keep standing. But… when we finally arrive at the source of light, we see that it's not a luminescent tree, but a… rock? And it's at the edge of a pretty big clearing too, our improvised shelter nowhere in sight.

"What?" I exclaim as I run to the half-buried rock, hoping it's some kind of illusion.

"Chariot?" Croix asks, following me slowly towards the strange rock. "What's going on? Where's the shelter?"

"I-I…" I'm about to answer her, but I don't even know what to say, and as I finally get close enough to examine the rock, I notice it's not coated with luminescent magic as I thought. Instead, it's a small diamond-shaped crystal emitting the same kind of glow as a sorcerer's stone. Actually, it looks a lot like the one I have in my house, just slightly bigger, since I probably would have to use both of my hands to carry it.

Out of curiosity, I reach out to touch it.

"Wait, Chariot!" Croix's warning comes out too late.

* * *

 **A/N: Cliffhanger! *Laughs wickedly* Man, I really love those lol. Good news is, I already wrote next chapter, so you'll only have to wait one week to read it! See how nice I am? ... ok no. Anyways, thank you all for supporting the story with your reviews, favorites and follows, I really do appreciate it.**

 **Also, I don't know if you're aware of this, but I have another LWA fic called "She's the man". It features mainly Hammanda and has tons of gay love and fun shenanigans, so I definetely would advise you to check it out. See you next week!**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	19. The road to Arcturus

**Chapter 18: The road to Arcturus.**

As I kneel down to examine the rock, I notice it's actually a small diamond-shaped crystal emitting the same kind of glow as a sorcerer's stone. Actually, it looks a lot like the one I have in my house, just the shape is different.

Out of curiosity, I reach out to touch it.

"Wait, Chariot!" Croix's warning comes out too late.

As soon as my fingers brush the stone, I feel a powerful wave of energy that sends me flying across the clearing. The impact against the rocky ground is painful, but rolling around like a ragdoll and getting bruises and scratches all over my body is even worse. Not to mention getting all of the air knocked out of my lungs. I take a few moments to regain my bearings, inhaling sharply and letting out a pained cry. Then, I slowly open my eyes and turn around to see what happened with the weird stone… and what I see is truly scary.

The stone I touched is now floating a few feet off the ground, and around it, rocks and dirt have started to levitate too, converging around it to give it some sort of… body? It's faint at first, but there's no doubt that the rock monstrosity is taking shape, transforming over and over until it's satisfied. It looks kinda like a bull? But also a wolf, considering the ears and tail. And it has two antlers, two horns, and eight legs. And it's… it's _huge!_ It towers over the trees! So it's maybe… thirty meters tall or possibly even more! I don't know, but it is also bulky, with all its muscles made of solid, hard, rocks, yet still able to move with ease.

It turns to look at me, its terrifying eyes gleaming with green light, and I freeze on the spot. The creature takes a menacing step towards me, making the ground shake, and I gulp, trying to get up, but failing as my legs turn into jelly and I fall to the ground once more.

"Chariot! Chariot, run!" I barely register Croix's panicked voice calling me across the clearing, but though I'd like to obey, my body simply doesn't respond, and all I can do is breath heavily and stare in horror at the creature rapidly approaching me.

And suddenly there's a flash of light and an explosion on the monster's back, which makes it stop charging towards me, instead turning to look for its attacker. I don't have to look to know its Croix, but seeing the creature now go after her snaps me out of whatever frozen state I was in, and I'm finally able to stand up. My heart is pounding so hard it feels like it will burst out of my chest in fear when I see the rocky antlers make contact with my friend.

Except they don't. She makes a barrier spell just in time and I sigh in relief, but still take my wand out just in case.

And I was right, because this thing keeps smashing into the shield over and over, and even though Croix is far away from me, I can very distinctly see her flinch every time, like its taking considerable effort to hold it off. More so, her gauntlet has started letting off sparks and is now visible despite the invisiblity potion, which surely can't be a good sign! I run towards her, not sure about what to do, but knowing I have to do _something_. Anything. Come on Chariot, think. Quick!

But in that very moment her gauntlet fails and the shield breaks. And I watch in horror as the antlers smash into the ground, Croix barely being able to jump in time to avoid a direct impact.

Without thinking, I raise my wand and cast the only spell I can think of.

" _Murowa!_ " I yell as I point towards the beast.

The little blast of magic lands on its back, making a small explosion that immediately makes it turn around to look at me with furious eyes, even if my attack did no harm at all to its thick rocky skin. I don't have time to think, so I just go with my instincts and run towards the forest as fast as I can. I can hear its steps resonating as it runs towards me, making the ground shake as its hooves grow closer with each step. My heart is pounding fast, and I can feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins. I'm so scared! But I can't let that stop me. I need to get this thing away from Croix. If I could just immobilize it, at least for a moment, maybe then I (or most probably, Croix) could make a plan to defeat it. But _how_?

If I could only restrain it… wait. I can, can't I? Those vines look thick enough. Maybe they won't be able to restrain it for too long, but I guess it's worth a shot.

" _Foraen Mugrowna!_ " I pronounce the plant-controlling spell and instantly tens of vines shoot from the forest, tying the monster's legs and making it trip and fall to the ground. Before it can get up, I command more vines to envelop it and restrain it tightly, preventing it from moving too much. The bull-thing struggles, managing to break some of the vines, but more shoot out to replace them. I know my trap won't last long, but at least it's safe for now. So I quickly run to check on Croix, and see if she has a plan.

I cross the clearing in record time and practically throw myself to the ground as soon as I reach her, kneeling next to her and trying to see if she's injured.

"Croix! Are you okay? Can you stand up?!" I ask, looking for wounds on her battered body. She is sweating profusely and struggling to breathe properly, has some scratches on her body, and her uniform is a bit torn. But so far it only looks like only her gauntlet broke, judging by the smoke it's emitting, which is probably why she pulled it off her hand. Honestly, she doesn't appear to be anywhere near as injured as I am; she's only sore and out of breath, which is a great relief.

"I'm… fine." She pants as she struggles to stand up. I quickly offer my assistance, putting my arm around her waist for support, and thankfully she easily accepts my help. "But… that thing is too strong. Our spells don't even manage to make a scratch on it."

"You think we could just run away?" I mean, not that I'm a coward or anything, but sometimes it's better to know when to retreat.

"Unfortunately… No." She sighs, furrowing her eyebrows in a concerned expression. "The moment you touched it, it imprinted on your magical energy, meaning it will follow you until you're dead."

I can only gulp and nod when presented with such an answer. So… I either kill that thing or it kills _me_? Why did I have to let my curiosity get the best of me?!

"What should we do?" I ask, hoping she has an answer because if not, I have no idea how we're going to survive this.

"Well… there's a spell." She says reluctantly. "It's very dangerous, but it's especially effective against monsters that are resistant to magical attacks. Like this one."

"How is it dangerous?" I ask, cautious.

"It drains the caster's vital energy. It could even kill you if used in excess." She admits with a grimace.

"But… you can do it, right? You're very careful with these sorts of things." I say, trying to remain hopeful, but also not wanting to be pushy. After all, what's the point of defeating the monster if one of us dies?

"I can try, but I won't promise anything. Physically strong people are more likely to cast this spell successfully, and I'm… well, let's just say I've never been that much into exercise."

"I could do it." I suggest, since helping around the farm has given me more strength than the average girl, which I guess could work on my favor. Plus, I know it physically hurts her to do magic without her gauntlet.

"No!" She quickly exclaims. "It's a very advanced spell. If it got out of control, you could die. I'll do it."

"Okay… if you insist." I accept. I had a feeling that would be her answer, but I still had to try. I don't want anything happening to her.

"I'll make a hole on its forehead." She explains. "That's where the core of its magic resides. Once it's exposed, you have to cast _Murowa_ on it, okay? Hopefully that will be enough to defeat it."

"Okay!" I nod with determination. I won't fail Croix. I can do this! I'm way better at magic now than I was before, all thanks to her teachings. We will defeat this thing together.

In that exact moment, the massive rock-thing gets out of my little trap, turning around to search for me. When it finds me, its eyes shine with red light, making it look even more menacing, as it kicks the ground to pound towards us. Croix curses under her breath and lets go of me, readying herself to cast the spell. I'm reluctant about letting her stand on her own, since her legs are rather wobbly, but I don't really have time to protest, since the beast is fast approaching.

" _Vega_ _varulus_." She says through clenched teeth, and instantly a green light appears at the soles of her feet. Suddenly, her legs stop trembling and before I can even blink, she's off to fight the monster.

I watch, wand ready and jaw tense, as she runs with superhuman speed, and then jumps to an incredible height in order to land a punch on the monster's forehead… But she didn't jump nearly high enough. And before I can even think about doing something, she's hit with one of the antlers and drops to the ground, clutching her stomach and screaming in agony.

When I see the beast raise its front hives, ready to pounce on my friend and literally crush her like an insect, I don't have time to even think; I just act.

" _Vega_ _varulus!_ " I scream, raising my wand. Instantly, I feel a tingly sensation spreading throughout my whole body, infusing my legs and arms with a rush of energy. I'm no longer tired, or out of breath. I don't feel my injuries. I'm revitalized. I'm strong. I'm powerful.

And then I'm running towards the beast as fast as I can. I see the hooves almost touching Croix, and I jump, elevating myself enough to kick its jaw and making it stumble backwards. It didn't even hurt kicking its rocky skin! This spell is truly something else.

I'm standing between the beast and Croix in a protective position, waiting for the monster's next move, when I hear Croix's weak voice calling me.

"Chariot… stop." She's barely able to say. "You will die."

"I won't stop! Not now." I answer as the bull starts charging towards me once again. But this time, I don't move. Instead, I grab one of its horns and pull, hard enough to make it fall _and_ to be left with the horn in my hand, which I then crush between my fingers. This rush of power surely is intoxicating.

"We will defeat this thing!" I continue saying as the beast gets up and charges again. "We will get back to Luna Nova!" I scream as I stop its advance with a fist to its face, hard enough to leave a few cracks, but not to break the skin. "And we will become great witches, able to bring happiness to everyone in the world." Now, I kick it on the side of its head, hard enough to send it flying a few meters. "We will find the Claiomh Solais, and restore magic!" Once it's back on its feet, I prepare myself, awaiting for it to charge towards me once more. I know what I have to do. I will defeat this thing once and for all. "Because we believe in our hearts, and that is our true magic!"

It doesn't take me any effort at all to jump just in time to avoid being hit by the beast, and land a powerful kick on its forehead. This time, I feel the rock crumbling under my feet before jumping back to land in the ground, next to the monster. I turn to look at Croix, and she seems to take the hint, because soon she has her wand out and is casting a spell to hit the red gem that's been uncovered by my attack.

" _Murowa!_ " A powerful blast of magic is expelled from her wand, landing on the magical stone and obliterating it into a million pieces. The monster lets out a loud shriek that makes my ears hurt so much I have to cover them with my hands. And then… it turns into small rocks that fall to the ground, then turning into dust and leaving no evidence of its existence. Like it was never here on the first place.

Just as the last of the dust settles on the ground, I cancel the spell, seeing there's no danger anymore. And just like that, I collapse.

My whole body is trembling from exhaustion, my muscles are so sore I don't think I could move any of them if I tried, and my eyelids feel as heavy as a giant metal door. My head is also spinning, and my stomach is upset. I think I'm going to throw up, but I don't even have the energy to do that. I don't have the energy to do anything! I'm barely breathing. Even my heart beats so weakly it feels like it's about to stop.

"Chariot! Chariot, answer me!" I hear Croix's panicked voice and feel her hands cradling my face, before one of them goes to check my pulse. Not wanting her to worry, I muster what little strength I still have and open my eyes, only to see her worried face, with tears about to fall from her eyes. Croix crying? I must be imagining things. Yes, I must be delirious. Why else would I be seeing all those pretty lights floating above Croix? Forming the Little Dipper constellation before settling on the ground, making a luminous path into the forest? Unless…

"Ch-Chariot?" Croix calls my name again, apparently noticing me being a little more conscious. "Are you okay? Can you talk?"

"Arc… tu… rus." I muster all my energy into saying just that one word. Because behind all the haze on my mind, I somehow recognize what this luminous road must mean. The road to Arcturus has opened before us. And Croix must follow it before it fades.

"Arcturus?" She looks at me like I'm crazy. "What does Arcturus have to do with anything? We need to get you to Luna Nova immediately!"

I try to speak, but I'm barely breathing anymore, so instead I move my head slightly, looking directly at the lights indicating the way. Thankfully, she takes the hint and follows my gaze, her eyes widening when she realizes what I'm trying to tell her.

"Arcturus…" She breaths out in amazement, but then turns to look at me, and then to the path again, clearly not knowing what to do.

"G-go." I encourage her. I know I'll be fine anyways. I just need to sleep for a while… yes, close my eyes. That'll feel good.

"I can't leave you!" She argues back. "You're too weak, I can't just…!" She cuts herself off, debating between her desire to fulfill her dream and her duty to take care of me. Silly. Just because she's a year older she feels responsible. But I can take care of myself! I'll be fine! I just wished I could muster the energy to tell her.

"The road… it won't last long." I hear her saying to herself. "I need to…! But Chariot… ugh!" I can imagine her pulling her hair in frustration, it's always such a comedic sight, I wished I could open my eyes to see it. Also, it's sweet of her to be so worried about me she's doubting between staying and chasing her dream. I didn't think she cared so much.

"But then again, I could… I mean, it's a difficult spell, and I don't know much about revitalization magic, but… okay, I'll try." I hear her finish the discussion with herself, but before I can wonder what spell she's talking about, she's already casted it.

" _Meiro soruaru_."

Instantly, the soreness of my body starts disappearing, and my heart accelerates to a normal and steady pulse. My breath is also deeper now, and I can feel the energy slowly returning to my body. Sooner than I would have expected, I'm able to open my eyes and sit up, only for my recently-gone dizziness to return full force.

"Chariot! Take it easy!" Croix says as she grabs my shoulders, preventing me from falling to the ground once more. "This spell only numbs down the pain and gives you back some of the energy you lost, but it doesn't heal you wounds or repair your battered body. You shouldn't exert yourself!"

"Ugh… my head hurts." I say, pressing my hand against my forehead. "And I'm dizzy… I think I will throw up."

"Well… I haven't practiced this spell much, so it's no wonder it didn't work completely." Croix explains, despite the fact she hates admitting being less than perfect at anything. "But I was hoping it'd at least allow you to walk."

"Y-yeah, I think I can manage." I fake a smile, but Croix doesn't seem to buy it, because she wraps one of her arms around my waist and slowly pulls me up, practically supporting my whole weight herself.

"Come on, we need to follow the light." She says as she starts walking very slowly, presumably for my sake.

"Croix, you should go alone." I protest. "I'll only slow you down."

"And leave you out here alone?" She scoffs. "You'll be dead within a minute."

"Aww, I knew you had a soft spot for me!" I tease. And if I didn't know better, I'd swear I saw a faint blush appear on her cheeks.

"I don't!" She exclaims, a little too defensively. "I just… I don't know how I would explain your death to Holbrooke."

"Right, right." I laugh as I separate slightly from Croix. "But I _am_ better now. You can at least let go of me."

"Are you sure?" She shoots me a concerned gaze. "You really shouldn't exert yourself."

"I'm not too injured. Just tired. I'll be fine." I say with a reassuring smile. She looks at me for a moment, debating between believing me or not, but at the end releases her grip on me just enough to let me walk on my own. I also remove my hand from her shoulders and stand still for a moment, trying to decide if my legs can support me or not. They're still trembling a little, but otherwise it seems like they will resist.

"Huh. You must be very fit." Croix comments. "Even with the help of my spell, considering how long you were using _Vega_ _varulus_ , you should be too exhausted to do anything."

"I do a lot of manual labor back home." I shrug. "And besides, after I ended the spell I did feel like sleeping for an entire week."

"Still. It's very impressive." She reiterates as she keeps walking, with me following close behind. "I didn't last nearly as long as you did, and still was as exhausted as if I had run a marathon."

"Looks like I'm finally better at something than you." I tease. "The student has surpassed the teacher!"

"Only because the control you have on that spell doesn't depend on how good you are at magic." She grumbles, but a small smile still appears on her face. "Come on. This road won't last forever."

* * *

We follow the luminous path for about fifteen minutes. The thing itself isn't all that beautiful or impressive. It barely shines bright enough to be easily seen, but not to illuminate the forest around us, which makes me slightly uneasy, and I end up clutching tightly to Croix's arm (much to her annoyance). Thankfully though, no more monsters appear for tonight and soon we arrive to another clearing… only this one has a tall tower on it.

The tower stretches far beyond the height of the trees, which makes me wonder how we didn't see it before, when we were flying on our brooms. Then I realize that such a thing is surely camouflaged, or at least has some sort of confusion magic around it so no one will find it. We only got here because of the magical path.

Aside from that, the tower appears to be very old, and the way it's built reminds me more of a tree than a tower, more so considering the branches coming out from the windows and the top of the structure. I don't know why, but I think it's very fitting.

Croix comes to a stop in the middle of a painted circle, and kneels down to inspect the marks on the ground. I also look at them (only without kneeling because I don't think I'd be able to get back up), and see they look like three great spirals encased in a big circle, in which we're standing.

"Just as I thought." She smiles. "The seal of the Grand Triskallion."

"It's here?!" I exclaim, almost not believing any of this is real; that I'm really standing where three of the Nine Olde Witches once sealed the remnants of the magical tree Yggdrasil. Honestly, just thinking about it makes me dizzier.

She nods, wearing an expression so happy that it even takes me aback. I've never seen her like this before. Not even when she got perfect notes in all her classes.

"We did it, Chariot!" She exclaims excitedly. "I found my dream. And it's all thanks to you."

"It was nothing, really." I reply shyly. "You taught me everything I know."

"Still. I'm grateful." She answers, with a big smile firmly on her face, her eyes so happy that I can't help but share that enthusiasm with her. I start feeling giddy myself, knowing this is an important event in the history of witchcraft; that, after we unlock the Grand Triskelion, my dream will also come true. I will be able to show everyone how wonderful magic truly is, and then everybody will be able to smile.

"So… what now?" I ask impatiently, eager to see something even more magical. "Do we go inside the tower or…?"

"The Claiomh Solais is said to be sealed within the stars. The Acturus Tower itself is empty." She explains nonchalantly. "Only the spirit of one of the Nine Olde Witches resides in it, as it's said to watch over the seal of the Grand Triskelion."

"So what do we do?"

"I don't know." She giggles, standing up and looking to the top of the tower, but I just keep staring at her, confused as to why Croix is still so happy despite not knowing something as important as that. "The books didn't say anything. But, since the shiny road appeared before us, I'd say that the guardian of the Claiomh Solais has been watching us, and has approved of us."

"R-right." I say, thinking Croix looks surer about this than she has any right to be. "So then…?"

"We just need to ask." She answers with an even bigger smile before she takes a deep breath and speaks, addressing the tower.

"I swear for the Nine Olde Witches that I will break the seal of the Grand Triskelion and bring magic back to the world. I'll be the greatest witch ever!" She speaks so enthusiastically and with such a contagious positive energy that I feel the desire to join in, and before I can think better of it, I'm also talking to the Arcturus Tower, just expressing my own dream instead.

"I swear it too. I want to bring happiness to everyone, to make hate and sadness disappear and put a smile on everybody's face!" I exclaim as I raise my hands to the sky.

And suddenly, there's a bright light coming from the sky, and when I turn to look at it, I realize it's coming from the Little Dipper constellation, which is shining brighter than any of the others stars. And then… then the stars start to slowly descend from the sky, coming in my direction. I know I should be scared, but they don't feel threatening. There's something… almost _familiar_ about them that makes my heart swell with warmth and wonder. And then, the stars converge, forming a big one that comes to rest in my hands, staying there for just a moment before it's transformed into a metallic object, which is actually not as heavy as it looks. And it's golden, with seven small crystal spheres incrusted in it.

"What… what is this?" I stammer, too surprised by the rather magical apparition.

"No way!" Croix exclaims, looking at it with astonishment.

And then, another extraordinary thing happens; a swirl of leaves pass flying between us, glowing with an ethereal green light. We follow them with our eyes and see them converging in front of the tower's door, making the form of a woman with long green hair, wearing an equally deep green dress. She is floating, and has the same ethereal glow as the leaves. I think she's a spirit, or maybe… a ghost?

"It's been far too long since the Claiomh Solais chose a wielder." She speaks with a soft and calming voice that slowly soothes my nerves.

"It chose Chariot?! Instead of me?!" I'm barely aware of Croix's anguished and surprised voice, but before I can register her words, the ghostly woman speaks again, ignoring Croix's commentary.

"Chariot, you must revive the seven words using the power of the rod." She continues, but before I can ask how she even knows my name, Croix speaks again.

"Impossible." She's almost transfixed as she extends her hand towards the golden rod that is still in my hands, her gaze longing and desperate. And then, just as her fingers make contact with it, there's a zapping sound and yellow lighting shoots out of the rod. I recoil in fear, but it's too late; Croix is clutching her injured hand and looking at me with anger. Hatred. Two emotions I never thought I'd see directed towards me again. Not from her.

"C-Croix." I say with a trembling voice. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't meant to, I swear!" But she just keeps staring at me with such anger in her eyes, it's scaring me. I've never seen her like this before.

"The Claiomh Solais can't be touched by someone who desires to possess it." The ghost lady explains, making us turn to look at her once more, and with her eyes, Croix's anger is also redirected towards her.

"And who are you anyways?! How do you know so much about the Claiomh Solais?" She yells.

"Oh, pardon my manners. Being asleep for two hundred years has made me impatient." The ghost answers, smiling kindly at Croix. "But then again, I thought someone as intelligent as you would already know the answer, Croix Meridies."

"You are one of the Nine Olde Witches. The original owner of the Claiomh Solais." Croix says, clenching her fists like she wants to see if it's possible to punch a ghost.

"You can call me Professor Woodward." She nods, not reacting in the slightest to Croix's anger.

"Alright then, _professor_." Croix says through clenched teeth. "Explain to me, why did the Claiomh Solais choose Chariot when I'm by far a better witch than she'll ever be?!" I can't really say that what she's saying isn't true, but it still hurts to hear it from her. From one of the few people who I thought had faith in me.

" _I_ want to restore magic to the world! She doesn't! That isn't her dream, it's _mine!_ So then why?! Why did you choose her instead of me?!" By now, she's so enraged I barely recognize her, but there are also tears falling from her eyes, not only from anger but probably sadness too. And… I also find myself wishing the Claiomh Solais had chosen her instead. Croix is right; she's the logical choice. I don't want this. I've never had. I don't think I can manage this important task when I can barely do my homework.

"Professor Woodward." I interfere shyly. "If I may… is it possible that you give it to Croix instead? She's right, she'd be a far better choice than me."

"See? Even Chariot says so!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible." Woodward answers rather calmly. "The rod of seven stars choses its owner, not me. I merely guided you here, since this is the most likely place for it to appear and I saw great potential in you both. However, it must have seen something in Chariot that made her a better choice."

Croix closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Her jaw is now tense, and she's trembling from how much anger she's feeling. At least it's not directed at me anymore… I think. Poor Croix, she must feel terrible. I wished I could help her somehow, but I guess I'm the last person she wants to be with right now.

"If I had come here alone, would it have chosen me?" She asks after a long pause, finally opening her eyes. And, yeah, I knew from the beginning that she didn't want me to accompany her, but hearing those words from her, after everything we've been through, feels like taking a knife to my chest.

"That, I cannot know." Is Woodward's answer. "However, if you really are as committed as you say to restoring magic, it shouldn't matter if you weren't chosen by the Claiomh Solais. You can still help your friend, like you've been doing until now."

For a moment, Croix looks at her with murderous eyes. I'd actually fear for Woodward's like if she wasn't already dead. But then, Croix just scoffs and looks to the side.

"Of course I'll help her." Is all she says, her voice cold and stiff. Yet, her words fill my heart with warmth and I suddenly feel like all tension has disappeared from the air. Croix is still my friend. She doesn't hate me!

"I'm glad." Woodward nods before turning to address me. "Chariot, you have a very important duty to fulfill. It's a burden as much as it's a blessing. I won't be able to guide you every step of the way, but I can tell you this: you must feel the words inside your heart, and breathe life into them in order to revive them. I suppose you know the seven of them?"

"Uh…" I stammer. I don't know much about this Arcturus stuff! Croix is the expert. And so I look at her with a questioning gaze. She just sighs.

"I do." Croix answers in my stead.

"Very well." Woodward smiles. "Until next time then."

And suddenly, the wind blows again, carrying away the leaves that had previously formed Woodward's body. Now she's gone, like she was never here in the first place. And we're still lost in the Arcturus forest, with no way of going back, and a mystical rod that I don't know how to use. But I have to stay positive. I need to. Croix surely doesn't look like she's in the right state of mind to find a solution on her own.

"So… should we set a camp or…?" I start asking, but Croix doesn't answer; her eyes fixed on the rod that's now in my hands. "Croix?" I prompt.

"Hmmm." She makes a face. "I still can't comprehend why it chose you."

"Yeah, me neither." I admit giggling, hoping to make a lighter atmosphere.

"But anyways." She sighs, finally looking up to meet my eyes. "I think I'm being rather unfair here. It wasn't your fault."

"So… we're good?" I ask hopefully.

"I suppose." She shrugs. "I'm still angry though. Not at you, but… yeah…" She trails off, her gaze again falling into the object that's causing her so much pain.

"But I mean, your dream wasn't to get this stupid rod, was it?" I say, trying to cheer her up. "It was to bring magic back to the world, and become the best witch ever! You don't need this thing for that." I give her my brightest smile as I take one of her hands within mine, surprising her greatly. But I tighten my grip when she tries to take a step back. "You can help me get the seven words, and together we'll break the seal of the Grand Triskelion. Then you'll show the world how wonderful you are, and _I_ will make everyone happy with the power of magic!"

Finally, her eyes stop being so gloomy, and her gaze softens considerably as she looks at me, a sad smile appearing on her face.

"Chariot." She shakes her head in amusement. "You are always the embodiment of positivity, aren't you?"

"I have to, since you're the embodiment of negativity." I tease, and it suddenly feels like we're ourselves again. Like this thing with the Claiomh Solais won't be breaking us apart any time soon, but instead will bring us closer. Like our dreams are suddenly within our reach. Sure, maybe we'll have to fight, and shed many tears and sweat to find them, but they're not just fantasies. Together, and with the help of this rod, we'll reach them. I'm determined to make it come true.

"Maybe you should try it out?" Croix suggests, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Say the first word, and see if it works."

"Woodward said I had to breathe life into the words though. I don't think just saying it will work." I reply, eying the rod with skepticism.

"It doesn't hurt to try though." She shrugs, and though she's very obviously trying to keep a blank expression, I can see right through her mask. She's eager to see the power of the thing we worked so hard to obtain, and since she's already been denied its ownership, the least I can do is comply with her wishes, right?

"Okay… which was the first one?"

"Repeat after me." She instructs, and I nod in response. " _Noctu Orfei_."

" _Noctu Orfei_." I say, closing my eyes and clenching tightly the rod, trying to breathe life into the words as Woodward said.

" _Odem Fraetore_." She finishes.

" _Odem_ …" I make a pause, feeling a strange warm tension building inside my chest, but it isn't unpleasant, so I just brace myself and then say the last part of the word. " _Fraetore!_ " I yell as a feel a powerful energy cursing through my veins. It's exhilarating and addicting. Kinda like the body strengthening spell, but even more satisfying. It's like liquefied happiness is rushing through my whole body and into the rod, mixing with its magical energy and tying my heart with the spirit of the rod.

And suddenly, as I open my eyes, I see the Claiomh Solais being transformed into an ethereal light before taking the shape of a bow as I close my hand around it.

"You did it, Chariot!" Croix exclaims, staring at the arc with fascination. "You unlocked the first word."

"Only six more to go!" I answer, practically jumping in my place from excitement.

"I doubt they will be as easy to obtain." She tries being the voice of reason as always, but I just laugh.

"Pffft. Yeah, you'll see. I will get the other words in no time at all. Just watch!" And, compelled by some unknown inner force, I pull the string of the bow. A shiny ball of magic instantly forms at the tip of my fingers, then taking the shape of an arrow. I aim towards the forest and let go, recoiling a bit from the force of the projectile I just unleashed.

And, instead of flying off to the sky like a normal arrow would, mine explodes into a ball of green light and then, between the line of trees, there's now a… Leyline?

"A portal." Croix breaths out in amazement. "Your bow can make portals into the Leylines."

"We're going home!" I exclaim, more than happy now that we don't have to spend the night in this haunted forest. And without thinking about it, I take Croix's hand and run off towards the portal.

"Wait, Chariot, you don't know where it…!" But Croix's protests are silenced as we enter the Leyline, falling through an endless tunnel of light. But it doesn't matter anyway, because my heart tells me we'll be safe. We're going to Luna Nova; to make our dreams come true.

* * *

"Wow, sensei! That was so cool!" Akko exclaimed once Ursula finished her tale. "But also… very different from how I myself got the Shiny Rod." She then added, adopting a thoughtful expression.

"Well… that's true." The professor agreed. "It just appeared to you in the forest, right?"

"Yeah. I mean, I didn't even ask for it! When I saw it, it was just… _there_." She explained.

"Woodward did say the Arcturus Tower was the most likely place for it to appear, but that probably means it's not the only one." She explained, though she herself wasn't sure if what she was saying was correct.

"Yes, that may be true." Akko shrugged, easily accepting the explanation. "But there's also another thing I don't understand." When the professor nodded, indicating her to continue, she asked the question. "How were you able to use the first word just like that? I mean, I did it too, but it's not the same with the other six!"

"Ah… that's an excellent question, Akko." Chariot answered, not completely sure what to tell her. "Croix had a few hypothesis, but the most likely one, considering the circumstances, is that we had already unlocked the first word when the Shiny Rod chose us. Or, in other words, unlocking it was one of the requisites to be chosen."

"Uhuh." Akko nodded, pretending she was following the explanation so far, but the teacher knew that face too well. That was the face Akko put whenever she partially understood something, but still had some doubts she wouldn't voice out loud.

"For example, when I fought the rock monster I was thinking about fulfilling my dream and helping Croix fulfill hers. Shortly after, the road to Arcturus appeared. And remember the meaning of the first word."

"Strive for your ideal place." Akko said, now finally getting what her teacher was saying.

"Exactly."

"So… when I was helping Lotte, saying we'd become witches, and live our own stories… I was thinking about your show actually, how I wanted to be like you. That was my ideal place, wasn't it? That's why the rod appeared just then."

"I mean, it's still a hypothesis, but… yes. It's very likely. More so when it happened to both of us." She smiled, glad to finally be able to share her own experiences using the Shiny Rod with Akko, and compare their stories. Before, she had only had Croix to talk about it… and it hadn't been quite as pleasant to be honest.

"I see!" Akko smiled. "So… after you got the rod and opened a portal, it took you back to Luna Nova, right? What happened next? How did you unlock the second word?"

"Akko, as you already know, unlocking the words isn't an easy task, and it definitely doesn't happen when you want it to, so… I'm sorry, but we'll have to leave that story for another time."

"Sensei!" The Japanese girl immediately protested.

"Besides, you have homework to do, and I'm supposed to be helping you, come on."

Akko could only pout as her teacher opened up the books once more and started trying to explain to her the many events that happened during the start of the Golden Era of magic. And… yeah, she couldn't care less about those things, but she still decided it was best to pay attention. After all, she didn't want to disappoint her sensei, least she stopped telling her such wonderful stories!

Honestly, she couldn't wait to hear how she'd unlocked the other words. She was sure her experiences would be very different from her own, but equally wonderful and, most of all, full of magic.

* * *

 **A/N: Yep, that was the first word. We finally reached that part of the story! Honestly, I enjoy writting the words almost as much as I enjoy writting Charoix. It just so fun imagining what was similar and what was different from Akko's experiences :D. Oh, and btw, I made a drawing of Chariot fighting the rock moster so, if you want to check it out, you can see my Tumblr or Deviant Art. My user name is TaniaHylian in both.**

 **Now, just a clarification. I know the wiki says that Chariot unlocked the sixth word right after getting the Claiomh Solais, and that many fans believe that to be true. Well... it's not. In the episode of Wagandea we see two scenes set in Chariot's past, one when she gets the shiny rod, and another when she unlcks the sixt word. But they're not set in the same day. The backgrounds in both scenes are different; in one they're at the Arcturus tower and in the other at the base of Wagandea. And I think it'd be too weird for them to go climb Wagandea right after obtaining the shiny rod. And yes, the discussion they have when Chariot unlocks the sixt word seems like it would belong to right after she gets the rod, but I personally believe it's a discussion they had over and over every time Croix's jealousy got the best of her. Also, the words are called first, second, third, etc. for a reason, right? They probably have to be unlocked in order.**

 **So, anyways, that's my explanation, but if you want to see proof, go check my Tumblr! And please continue to support this fic with reviews/favorites/follows, I really appreciate it. Thanks for reading :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	20. The cruelty of power

**Chapter 19: The cruelty of power.**

"Oh, and remember that one time you accidentally poured a growing potion all over Karen?" Croix laughed from the other end of the phone, almost out of breath.

"Yeah, she almost broke the ceiling." Chariot reminisced, also laughing.

"You were just so terrible at magic! But that's what made you so endearing." She kept teasing.

"Well, you weren't exactly innocent yourself." She decided to tease her too. "Don't think I don't know the little dragon incident at the Samhain Festival was your fault."

"Yeah, but that was on purpose." She answered naturally.

"Which makes it _worse_ , not better." Chariot had to remind her, but still she laughed at her friend's response.

"Hey, no one got hurt! Everything went according to plan." She could perfectly picture Croix shrugging like it didn't matter.

"Still, my point stands; you were terrible in your own way."

"Okay, okay. I concede." Croix kept laughing, apparently enjoying just as much the little conversation they were having, reminiscing the good times.

They had been talking over phone on an almost daily basis for about a month now, and though Chariot still had some fleeting doubts about her friend's intentions from time to time, they seemed to have been able to rekindle their relationship to a platonic level. She still wasn't sure she wanted to take it any higher, but at least talking with Croix had never been easier and, aside from some awkward conversations about her rather villainous actions, everything had been going smoothly between them.

She was so glad to have Croix in her life once more. She'd missed her too much.

"We were truly made for each other, huh?" She said before she could stop herself. Croix, however, took a few seconds to respond, like she had to carefully plan her answer.

"Well, I mean…" She cleared her throat. "You made me very happy." Chariot could totally picture her blushing in that very moment; she always did that when talking about her feelings. "I… I really liked you. For some weird reason." She chuckled nervously.

"I know what you mean." Chariot sighed wistfully, laying down at her couch and staring at the ceiling while silence extended though the other end of the line. "I felt the same. I never wanted it to end the way it did." Her voice sounded almost sad, and apologetic. It soured their previously happy mood, and made them both talk more quietly, almost like they were afraid of where this particular line of thought would take them but knew it was already too late to go back.

"Well… neither did I." Croix answered after a few moments of hesitation.

"What happened to us?" It was a rhetorical question, of course; Chariot already had a pretty good idea of what had happened, after all.

"You became Shiny Chariot." She answered, like that simple line explained everything. Of course, this only ended up upsetting the redhead.

"And you became an evil scientist!" She retorted angrily.

"Touché." She laughed. "But that was like… what? _Ten years_ after we broke up?"

"So making me steal the magic of thousands of children doesn't count?"

"Look, I just… " She paused, drawling out a long sigh. "Okay. No matter what I say right now you're gonna get mad, so… I'm just going to hang up and pray you'll calm down by tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure, just run away and shut me off." Chariot couldn't hold back the spite in her voice. This conversation was just opening _way_ too many wounds from the past. "That's what you always do." She added bitterly.

"I don't…" She started protesting, but then paused, thinking. "Do I?"

"Oh, so you now have memory loss?" She accused. "Because I don't think I imagined how you stopped talking to me for _months_ after I became Shiny Chariot."

"I-I… well, that was…"

"Or when you shut yourself in your lab for weeks shortly after I became Moonlit Witch!" She kept reproaching without giving Croix an opportunity to protest. She simply felt like she was on fire; for so long she'd kept all of this to herself, not saying a word to Croix, and now… now it was all flowing outside like lava erupting from a previously dormant volcano.

"That… that was mostly your fault!" Croix dared placing the blame on her once more. Fatal mistake.

"I had to use a freaking _love potion_ to make you talk to me again!"

"Yeah, and look how well that turned out." She deadpanned.

"And let's not forget the cherry on top!" Chariot ignored Croix's remark in favor of continuing with her angry ramblings. "You abandoned me after I got the Shiny Rod!"

"I-I… a-ah… _abandoned_ you? W-what?" She sputtered, before laughing nervously. "It was Samhain break! I simply went back home like the other kids."

"You said you'd stay with me!"

"There was a change of plans…" She tried to defend herself, but by her tone of voice it was obvious she was getting uncomfortable with Chariot's accusations.

"You were just jealous because Woodward chose me instead of you!"

Chariot's words seemed to ring loudly between them, creating a silence that wasn't just awkward, but also filled with ugly sentiments from both parties. Needless to say, Chariot wanted to take back her words as soon as they escaped her mouth, but also knew all that she said was true, and something she'd needed to get off of her chest for a long time.

"Sure, whatever." Croix finally spoke after a few seconds, sounding rather bitter. "Pretend I'm just evil and petty, I don't care."

"Croix…"

"No! I don't want to hear it." She snarled, cutting her off. "Goodbye, Chariot."

Chariot sighed as the call ended. She hadn't meant to start a fight with Croix. But then again she shouldn't have brought up the Shiny Rod, or Shiny Chariot, or anything like that. Everything was going so well! Why did she have to open her stupid mouth?

But still, it was all Croix's fault, wasn't it? Sure, now she understood better the reasons behind _some_ of her actions, but… that didn't mean her friend didn't act rather childish and jealous for years just because she got a stupid rod she didn't even _want_.

Gosh, she still remembered that scene so vividly. When she woke up in Croix's lab and discovered she'd be spending Samhain break on her own.

* * *

I groan and open my eyes. Ugh. My whole body hurts, my head is thumping and I feel all dirty and tired. And I just woke up! Also… there's something between my arms. I'm holding it like a teddy bear, but it's a… stick? A golden rod. Heavy, cold and not comfy at all. I try to push it away so I can rest more comfortably and hopefully go back to sleep, but it ends up slipping from my hands and clattering to the ground, producing a thunderous metallic sound that makes me wince.

I freeze for a moment, waiting for it to quiet down before extending my hand to grab it again. But a cold voice makes me stop immediately.

"So you're awake." I look up and see Croix at her desk, which is next to the sofa where I fell asleep. I remember her telling me to go ahead and lay down; that she'd join me later, but it doesn't look like she did. Actually, judging by her red eyes and the black bags under them, I don't think she slept _at all_.

"Y-yeah." I croak out. Ugh. My throat is as dry as the Sahara desert.

"Great." She gets up, making a scratching noise with her chair as she pushes it back. Then, she turns around and regards me with an upsetting expression. She's cold, too cold. Angry too. But… I thought we were good! After I unlocked the first word last night we… we were _fine_.

"C-Croix?" I ask with a small voice.

"I'm going home today. I'm afraid I won't see you in a week." She announces, still with the same ice-cold attitude.

"What?" I practically whimper, making an effort to sit up, even if everything hurts. "I thought you said you'd stay!"

"Yeah, well… that was before the Claiomh Solais decided to choose you instead." She snarls, deviating her gaze towards the shiny object. "There's no point in me staying anymore, so… I'm going home." She shrugs casually, but a clear angry expression remains in her face. "I already sent a letter to Mellea."

Huh? Mellea? Who is this Mellea? … Wait, it doesn't matter! She's going _home_?!

"But I thought you'd help me!" I protest.

"So?" She raises an eyebrow. "I already helped you unlock the first word, and I really don't expect you to get the other six within a week… Or at all, to be honest."

"Hey!" I puff out my cheeks indignantly. How can she say that?! She's being such a big meanie! Even for her standards.

"In any case, you can read something about the Claiomh Solais on your own." She gestures to her desk, where various books and papers lay. "Who knows? Maybe the future of magic won't be so screwed then."

"Croix… okay, I get it, you wanted it for your own, but you don't have to be so mean about it!" I keep protesting, trying to get up from the couch but failing due to my legs hurting like absolute hell. Ugh. I'm never using that stupid strengthening spell again!

"I'm not being mean, I'm just telling the truth." She shrugs. "But believe what you want; I'm going home now." With that, she starts calmly walking towards the door, no doubt on her way to her room, where she will collect her belongings before departing. But I can't let that happen! I don't want to be left here all alone for a whole week with a stupid rod that I don't know how to use.

"Croix, wait!" Once again I try to stand up, and once again my legs fail from under me, this time making me fall to the front and, therefore, into the ground. It doesn't hurt much, to be honest, thanks to me reacting just in time to land on my hands and knees. What hurts though is that Croix doesn't even try to help me as I try to stand up, although she does pause on her way to the door.

I struggle, battling with my sore arms and legs to try and force them to move, but they're trembling too much and, going just by the pain I'm experiencing, I could've believed they've spontaneously caught fire. It doesn't help either that every time I fail to get up, it all ends up hurting even more.

Finally, after a few failed attempts, I hear Croix's steps as she walks towards me and I see her shoes appear in my field of vision.

"Are you okay?" She asks with a hint of hesitation on her voice.

"No, you idiot!" I can't help the spiteful tone I use as my grip in the couch fails and I end up in the ground once more.

"Here." She sighs. "Let me help you."

Before I can protest, she grabs my waist and pulls me up the ground, quite obviously using every last bit of strength she has to do such a simple task, since she's left breathless and flustered after she's placed me back on the couch. I can't blame her though; she pretty much just lifted my whole weight.

"You should remain here all day." She says with a slightly reprimanding tone. "The strengthening spell obviously took a huge toll on you; you shouldn't be pushing your body like that."

"I wouldn't be trying to get up if you didn't insist on leaving!" I protest once more, focusing once more on her stupid plans for Samhain break rather than on the pain invading my body.

"Can't you be on your own for just _one_ week?" She says, clearly annoyed. "Geez, I never knew you were so clingy."

"I'm not clingy!" I immediately protest, but then I follow Croix's skeptical eyes and realize my hands are still holding fistfuls of her sleeves. Immediately, I let go of her as if I had been burned.

"Look, Chariot, I don't care what you think. Call me petty, if you want; I'm going home." She turns around, no doubt to leave once more, but then pauses. "You stay here. _Resting_."

And with that, she's gone.

I don't try making another attempt at preventing her from leaving; I'd just end up on the floor once more, and I doubt she'd stop to help me a second time. Plus, I don't want her to see me cry, and I can already feel my throat tightening with barely contained rage and impotence. Just then, the first tears start falling too.

I just don't understand! Why would she leave me alone? She said she would stay! That we would spend Samhain break studying the Claiomh Solais! Is me getting the rod that big of a deal to her? I mean, it has to be better than neither of us getting it, right? Why did it have to be _specifically_ her? And why is she being so irrational about this?

I don't understand. I don't understand anything! My emotions are a mess, I'm tired and I'm not really in the mood to try and decipher what she could be thinking. I just know my best friend just abandoned me because of some stupid object that really doesn't even look all that special to me.

That day, I cry myself to sleep. Despite having just woken up.

* * *

When I wake up I'm feeling a little better. Physically, because emotionally I'm still a mess. I mean, my chest still hurts because of the mean things Croix said earlier and how she left, leaving me alone here for a whole freaking _week_. Like, what am I supposed to do for seven days, really? Sure, I suppose I could visit Arcas, maybe go to town and call my aunt… but there's not much else to do here. Not when most students go home for Samhain break… like I should have done. But I was stupid enough to believe Croix would stay with me no matter what.

Granted, I thought she'd either get the rod or we wouldn't find it and would have to try again some other time. I never thought it would choose _me_. Not that I even wanted it, to be honest… which may be the reason it chose me instead of Croix in the first place. Didn't Professor Woodward say it wouldn't allow someone who wants it to possess it? So Croix was automatically disqualified.

But wait… why _does_ she want it anyways? All this time and I never asked.

I thought it was obvious. I thought she wanted to revive magic because she felt it was her duty, as the best witch of our generation, but… if that was the case, she wouldn't want the Claiomh Solais _per_ _se_. She'd want to revive magic, right? And sure, it's almost the same, but I just think that if that was the case, she could have been chosen. Or maybe she would _at_ _least_ be allowed to touch it.

I don't understand. All this time and I still know so little about who I claimed to be my best friend. But Croix… does she even think of me as a friend? For all I know maybe she sees me as just a nuisance.

But maybe staying here in her lab moping all day long isn't that great of an idea. I should go back to my room, maybe get a nice hot shower, have dinner and go to sleep; forget about everything. About this stupid rod that is causing so many problems in my life.

And so I do just that. Seeing that it's almost twilight and I technically spent the whole day sleeping, my body is less tired and sore, and I'm thankfully able to walk to my room to collect some clean clothes, and then to the showers. After that, I decide to take a walk around the fields while I wait for it to be dinner time.

I end up sitting in a bench outside the greenhouse, staring blankly at the shiny rod and wondering why the hell it chose _me_ of all people, wishing it could answer.

Honestly, even with the soft glow of twilight, this thing is kinda ugly. Sure, it's golden and whatever, but the seven green gems look like… pimples. Weird, shiny pimples that shouldn't be there. And the shape, with those sharp edges and irregularities… cold, metallic and impersonal.

If I ever designed a rod, it wouldn't be like this at all.

"What an interesting staff you have there." A voice startles me out of my contemplations. I pretty much jump out of my skin as I turn around to see…

"H-headmistress Holbrooke."

"Please dear, call me Miranda. I once changed your diaper, you know?" She laughs, coming to sit next to me.

"R-right." I answer, uncomfortable.

"What are you doing here alone? I thought you'd be eager to go back home and tell your aunt everything about your new school."

"I should have done that." I sigh. "But she's probably already in Spain, and I wouldn't want her to cancel her vacations just for me." Then, I deviate my gaze towards the rod once more, partially blaming it for all my problems. The headmistress follows my eyes.

"You still haven't answered my other question."

"Huh?" She asked me something else? I don't think so.

"Where did you get such an interesting-looking rod?"

"Oh, it's just… an old relic." Yeah, even I know it wouldn't be smart to admit I got into the _forbidden_ forest of Arcturus without permission.

"I see." She smiles, but I can't tell if she believes me or not. Her expression is unreadable. "Many would tell you a rod, or a staff, aren't very witch-like. They were traditionally used by wizards and warlocks during the Golden Age of magic." She chuckles. "Truth is, they hold more power than any wand would hope to possess, which is why men, as always, wanted to keep them for themselves."

Huh. So, I guess that's why she has a staff? But at least hers isn't forcing her to take on a quest she's not even remotely prepared for.

"I never wanted power." I answer, glaring at the culprit of my current predicament. Finding it uglier by the second.

"Oh, dearie." She smiles with an almost pitying expression. "We _all_ want power."

"But I…" I start protesting, but she gives me a look that clearly says I shouldn't interrupt, so I shut my mouth.

"When we are born, we're never complete. We are all missing something. What it is varies from person to person and depends on the age as well." She starts explaining, but I honestly don't know where she's getting with this. Is this all about how I'm an absolute disaster in class?

"When we're babies we're missing food, so we cry and our need is met. When we're children we're missing strength, so we call our parents when we need something done. When we are teenagers we're missing independence, so we distance ourselves from our parents, hoping to gain it." She continues. "But every single action is based on power; the power over our parents, the power to make our own decisions, the power to learn and grow…"

"I don't understand."

"Tell me, Chariot. What are you missing?"

"Ha! Where do I even start?" I chuckle bitterly. "I still lack basic magic knowledge, although Croix's helping me with that. I lack discipline, patience, intelligence… _everything_."

Everything Croix has.

"Then you need power the most." She concludes.

"What?" I still don't get it. What does power has to do with anything?

"Power is merely a tool." She explains. "It isn't an abstract thing, nor is it bad to seek it. The question is, however, what kind of power do _you_ want, and what do you want it _for_?"

"Uh…"

"What do you wish to do, Chariot?"

"I want… I want to show everyone the wonder of magic. Because then, they'd be happy."

"And do you need power for that?"

"Uh…" I pause, remembering how every time I go to town and try to do magic to entertain some kids (yes, it's become an increasingly common occurrence) I run out of magic almost instantly. But that could be easily solved if I had more power, right? So… "Yes?"

The headmistress nods, like I gave the right answer.

"It's good to acknowledge that we want power. But we also have to address that what we need and what we want are usually different things." She keeps talking. "Our needs arise from our understanding that we lack something. Our wants are our attempts to fill that void." She pauses, giving me a mysterious smile. "You already know what you want, but do you know what you _need_?"

I open my mouth to respond, but close it a second later. Because I have no idea how to answer. I feel any answer wouldn't be the correct one. I mean, _in_ _theory_ , I know what I need. I need to study more, to be more disciplined, to take things seriously and whatnot... But what does that have to do with my dream? With making people happy? Not like I could even make anyone happy right now anyways, since I'm feeling so miserable. Ugh. I hate feeling sad.

"Oh! Look at the time." Holbrooke suddenly exclaims. "I was supposed to meet with Anne before dinner. I will see you later, dear. Take care of that rod of yours, and use your new power to get what you need." And with that, and yet another cryptic smile, she leaves. And now I'm not just sad and angry, but confused as well.

Ugh. Why? I thought magic was the equivalent of happiness. That was the whole point on coming here all the way from France, even despite my aunt's protests. Magic was supposed to make me happy. And yet here I am, being all moody and miserable because of some stupid _magic rod_.

But… what do I _need_ to be happy again? Huh. The answer might be simpler than I thought.

I need Croix here with me. I need her to be my friend again. I need her not to be angry because of this whole thing with the rod. I need _her_. She's my happiness.

But not even the most powerful rod in the world will bring her back; in fact, it will only drive her away. But… why? Why does _she_ want power? What does she want? What does she _need_?

Well, I have literally no idea. All because I barely know my best friend because I lack curiosity _and_ she's very secretive. All I know is that she said something quite interesting before departing, which could give me a clue as to what to do.

She said that I needed to study, so that maybe the future of magic wouldn't be so screwed. Maybe she genuinely wants to bring back magic. Maybe she's just concerned I'm so stupid I might screw it up. Well, Croix, prepare yourself! I'll show you! I will study like I've never studied before, I will learn to use this stupid wand, rod, or whatever, and when you come back, you'll see there's nothing to worry about. I got the rod for a reason; it knew I would do my best to get the seven words, and I will. That is a promise.

Time to study!

… Well, maybe after dinner. Or tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow sounds better.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, now the first cracks in their relationship have appeared. Do you think they'll be able to fix them and get the seven words? I mean, they obviously don't, but like, come on, let me have a little bit of mystery XD**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading and, as always, follows, favorites and reviews are greatly appreciated. See you soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	21. Chariot, alone

**Chapter 20: Chariot, alone.**

I wake up alone in my room. Yes, my two roommates also went home for Samhain break, which should make me glad because it means no more Karen for a few days, but… gosh, I hate being alone. I'd take Karen's mean comments over this eerie silence any day.

As I walk through the hallways to get to the cafeteria, my steps resonate loudly throughout the school, almost thunderous now that I'm pretty much the only one here. When I arrive to my destination, there are only like five people, dispersed in groups of two and three, each at different tables at opposite ends of the cafeteria. I try to see if there's anyone I know, but they all appear to be from different years, and I don't remember ever having seen them around. So, I end up sitting alone.

I sit next to the window, hoping that watching the green fields outside will help me feel less lonely. But staring at the empty space outside, usually filled to the brim with energetic students chatting, practicing magic and laughing… I end up feeling even lonelier.

Despite being in the same school I've lived in for the past few months, I feel like I'm a castaway in the middle of nowhere, utterly lost and with no hope of getting back to civilization.

Am I exaggerating? I probably am. But it's always been like that for me. Being alone makes me anxious, I feel like I'm trapped, and I always end up crying and seeking someone's company.

Back home it happened every time my aunt left and didn't take me with her, which forced her to cut her plans short many times.

When I was at school I tried to make as many friends as quickly as possible, so that I wouldn't feel so alone. But… almost no one wanted to be friends with the weird girl who thought she was a witch. So I ended up clinging to the very few friends I had like ivy.

And I did the same with Croix.

But despite everything, despite all my efforts for not feeling alone, here I am. As lonely as you can get. No one to talk to, no one to laugh with, no one to hug… no one to simply be with doing absolutely nothing, just relishing in the fact that you have each other.

Loneliness is truly the worst sensation in the world.

* * *

After breakfast, I go to Croix's lab and sit down at her desk all by myself. It feels weird being here all alone. I don't think I've ever been in this place without Croix, or sat here without her being next to me as well.

I miss her. Despite what she did I… I miss her so much.

But moping around won't bring her back. And slacking off, feeling miserable about myself won't impress her.

I spend this whole day reading, studying, making notes and trying to burn into my head every little bit of information I can find. I mean, I know I'll forget it by the end of the semester (or earlier), but at least Croix _should_ be impressed that I managed to learn so many things in such little time.

So, apparently Professor Woodward was the first known owner of the Claiomh Solais, but no one knows if she made it herself or found it. It was used once to revive magic in a time where witches were being hunted and killed, which was apparently weakening the connection of Yggdrasil to the stars, or something. But then they ended up sealing a small part of Yggdrasil, called the Grand Triskelion, in the Arcturus forest, so that magic could be revived if it ever ended up dying again.

For some reason though, they made it super complicated to unlock the damn thing! Like, that's the equivalent of keeping a fire extinguisher under locks and chains!

First you have to get the Claiomh Solais, of which location they gave no clue except that it was sealed in the stars, which is just too vague. Then, you'd have to find seven ancient spells and breathe life into them somehow despite there being no manual, or anything beyond their pronunciation written in freaking _lunar_ _runes_.

And after all of that you have to unlock the seal of the Grand Triskelion and make a wish to revive Yggdrasil. Like, come on! It's the freaking world-altering magic! What if the one who got the Grand Triskelion ended up wishing for something else? Like, I don't know, an ice-cream that never melts? … Okay, maybe not that one; that would be dumb, but you get the idea!

But anyways, the point is I spent most of my Samhain break memorizing stupid historical facts about this stupid rod that really didn't help me use it at all.

Like, I tried making spells with it, but it just wouldn't respond. I tried saying the first word again, over and over, to see if it transformed into the shiny arc thingy. I even tried casting spells on it with my wand! But nothing worked, and by the fourth day without results I was not only bored but also incredibly frustrated.

That's when I decided to check the library. In the legend section.

Going by the titles of Croix's books, I assumed she'd gotten them all either from the history section, the secret archive or bought them from the last Wednesday society, but I doubted she'd ever check the legend section. Sure, it was mostly filled to the brim with fun or mysterious stories that probably didn't have even an ounce of reality, but… they were more enjoyable. Plus, the world-altering magic surely sounds like a tale too good to be true.

And guess what? After spending a rather relaxing day (compared to the previous ones at least) reading fantastic tales about kings and princesses, and fairies, I finally stumbled across a legend that could maybe serve my purposes.

It went like this: once upon a time, long before the first witch learned to use magic, there was a sacred tree. This tree was made of gold, and its branches connected the stars to the Earth, the sky to the ground and even the hearts of all living things; it linked them all together. One day, there was a woman who wished to save her dying lover of a mortal wound he'd received, and her pain was so intense and so devastating, it was starting to affect the world around her; to the point one of the tree's branches withered and fell; the one which linked together the little and big dippers.

The girl found it and immediately formed a connection with the object. With it, she was able to wield the power of the stars and cure her lover, but it was only possible because the love she felt for him was strong enough to unite the branch with the tree once again, if only in spirit, and channel the magic through it.

That was the origin of the first witch and the first wand. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? But what I found most interesting was that little bit about her love being so strong it somehow managed to connect the wand with the tree.

I remembered how I felt when I pronounced the first word. There was something flowing between me and the rod. Some sort of energy or magic; a connection I've never felt with any ordinary wand. So… maybe that's the key. Maybe I have to use my emotions, make them super intense so they are passed into the rod, and use that energy to somehow summon magic.

Sure, it's more difficult than the traditional method with a normal wand, where you merely extract the magic from it and use it to make spells, but I guess a freaking legendary rod really can't be that easy to use.

So, I started practicing once more.

I failed of course, _a lot._ I spent a whole day trying to make just a simple illusion spell, but… I couldn't conjure even a tiny spark.

The next day I tried again, but this time I actually paused to think which emotion could be strong enough to do the trick. Like, sure, I'm very expressive myself, and I've never been one to repress my feelings in any way, but to activate the rod of seven stars it looked like I would need something more powerful.

I had already tried with happiness, by remembering how I felt the first time I was able to fly in my broom, when I would play with my aunt when I was younger, and even when I entered Luna Nova. But nothing happened.

I had also tried anger, which was honestly way easier to accomplish because I was already getting mad at the stupid wand! And I got the same result.

Finally, I had tried fear, remembering how I felt in the Arcturus forest when the monsters would chase us, or when I couldn't find Croix at night. I had even tried imagining a scenario in which I actually didn't find her and I had to face against the rock monster thingy alone! Like, that was a lot of fear! And anxiety too! And yet, the stupid rod had remained as lifeless as ever.

So, I wasn't going to try with those emotions again today. I needed new ones! Like… sadness? That was easy enough to accomplish. I just had to remember how Croix left after I got the Claiomh Solais and my heart immediately started hurting like it was happening in that very moment. But… even though for a millisecond it looked like the gems might flicker to life, at the end I couldn't cast any spell with sadness.

But didn't the legend say the first witch accomplished it with love? I didn't try that one at first because, like, I've never been interested in romance at all. Even when the other girls at my old school started fantasizing about boys and stuff, I was only ever worried about magic. I didn't have time for love!

But then I realized… it doesn't have to be _romantic_ love, right? It could be the love I feel for my aunt!

So I tried thinking about all the times she'd stop whatever she was doing to play with me, or comfort me, or tell me a story. How, despite not being my mother, she took her role as my guardian seriously and always tried to do what's best for me. Again, the gems flickered with light for merely a moment, but apparently my love for my aunt just wasn't enough.

But… what love could be greater than that? My love for Arcas? I mean, he's nice and all, but I wouldn't say I love him more than my aunt. Still, I tried. But nothing.

My love for my long-dead grandma? Okay, I did love her a whole lot, but I barely remember her anymore, so even though I summoned all the good memories I have of her, it apparently wasn't enough.

Then I tried… Croix. Sure, she's such a stupid egotistical meanie for leaving me here all by myself, and getting angry just because I got this shiny rod, but… I still care a whole lot about her. I know we only met a few months ago, but I immediately felt a connection with her, and aside from the occasional hiccups (like this one) she's been nicer to me than anyone else. So… I guess you could say I love her. As a friend, at least. Best friend, maybe? Still, I wouldn't say I love her more than my aunt, but I guess it's worth a try.

And so, I close my eyes, remembering how we met, how she agreed to teach me illusion magic despite thinking it was a waste of time, how she saved me from my own stupidity thousands of times while practicing spells and potions, how she defended me from my roommates, and how I taught her to fly while standing on her broom, which is still one of my favorite memories to date.

I actually started to feel something then. A little tingle in my fingers where they touched the rod, and a pleasant sensation in my chest. And when I opened my eyes, the gems were lit! But as soon as I tried casting a spell, the light disappeared and the rod became lifeless once more.

Ugh. Like, seriously, what do I have to do to make it work? There's no one I love more than my aunt or Croix!

… Wait. Sure, there's no _one_ I love more than them. But… but maybe there's some _thing_ that could do the trick.

Magic.

I've always loved magic above all things. It's the only connection I have with my dead grandma, and even with my mom. It was the only thing that would make me defy my aunt; ignore her concerns and warnings in favor of practicing it. It's what made me come to Luna Nova in the first place! The only thing that makes me keep studying and reading for hours and hours until I don't want to see a book ever again. Magic was what made me connect with Croix; another witch like me, who knew everything about magic and loved it almost as much as I do.

Maybe, just maybe, my love for magic was the key all along.

It would make sense, really, but I'm almost too afraid to try... Almost.

And so, I close my eyes once again. I start to remember the first time I casted a spell, when I came to Luna Nova when I was six, when I first flew in my broom, the first time I watched the Samhain Festival, when I was finally accepted to Luna Nova, the few times I managed to cast spells correctly, and finally, when I participated in the broom race.

I concentrate on the love I felt for magic in all those memories, and how that made me feel. And the tingling sensation appeared again, accompanied with some sort of pleasant heat that seemed to be emanating from the rod; like it was answering to my feelings.

When I opened my eyes, the gems were brighter than before, almost as much as when I had conjured the first word. And when I tried to cast a spell again… yes! The butterflies made of light I would always conjure with an illusion spell appeared in front of me! And when I willed them to transform into birds, then into a lion, and finally into a mermaid, they followed my commands perfectly; quickly and efficiently as soon as I imagined it. More so! They were a lot bigger and brighter than when I conjured them with my regular wand! And it took me way less effort and concentration!

Huh. I guess this rod isn't so bad after all. I bet it could even help me make longer spectacles while in town! Maybe I should try that soon.

Gosh, Croix's gonna be so impressed!

* * *

"So that was the key to make the Shiny Rod obey you every time? Just concentrating on your love for magic?" Akko asked. She had arrived shortly after Croix had hung up the phone and had asked to hear more about her idol's adventures. Wanting to distract herself from the painful memories in her mind, Chariot had immediately agreed and proceeded to tell her about the events that happened during the Samhain break.

"Yeah. Something like that." She answered.

"Amazing! I was myself only able to use it a couple of times for spells that weren't the words." Akko pouted.

"During the Samhain Festival, right?" Ursula asked, smiling fondly as she remembered the event.

"Yeah. And also when I helped hatch the Pappiliodya." She nodded. "I was thinking about you both times though, so it makes sense."

"M-me?" The professor startled, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Of course!" She answered naturally, a big smile appearing on her face. "My love for Shiny Chariot and my love for magic are one and the same!"

"I'm flattered." The professor blushed, being as awkward as always about the Shiny Chariot subject. It's not like she was ashamed of her in-stage persona, but… after everything she'd done, she just felt like she didn't deserve any kind of praise. Much less from such a sweet and innocent girl as Akko.

"Sensei, will you tell me now what happened next? How did Croix react when you showed her you could now use the Shiny Rod?" Just like every single night, Akko kept inquiring, wanting to know more and more. But just like every single night, Ursula had to refuse.

"I'm sorry Akko, but it's getting late and I'm really tired. I'll tell you tomorrow, alright?"

Usually Akko would have protested a couple more times before relenting and finally retiring to her room, but she noticed her teacher's eyes did look tired, her posture a little too hunched and her overall attitude was less energetic than usual. She knew from the moment she'd arrived that something was wrong with her sensei, but she also knew it wasn't her place to inquire, so instead she'd tried to distract her from whatever was bothering her by asking for a story. It had worked somewhat, since by the end of her tale Ursula had managed a small smile, but Akko sensed she was overstaying her visit and it was time to go.

More so! It was almost midnight! Which meant she'd probably catch Diana while she was finishing her patrols, so that was something to look forward to.

"Alright, sensei. Have a good night." The girl got up from the couch and smiled at her professor. "See you tomorrow!" And with that, she was gone.

Chariot sighed as soon as she heard the door close, more exhausted than anything. Not even physically at that; simply picking a fight with Croix and then remembering how she'd hurt her even when they were young… it was too much for her emotions. A part of her wanted to call her; see if they could make amends, but she was also too angry and sad, and knew talking to her friend in such a state of mind probably wouldn't solve anything.

And so, she got up from the couch, ruffled Alcor's feathers as a way of saying goodnight and changed into her pajamas. Then, she grabbed a bed sheet, turned off the lights and went to lay down on her couch.

Just when her eyes were staring to close, however, she heard a song coming from the device laying next to her couch, which was also vibrating and its screen was lit up.

It was Croix, obviously. No one else had that number.

She was tempted to just let it ring; make Croix believe she was already asleep. But… hadn't she accused her of running away and shutting her off? And now she was going to do the same? Maybe they should both finally start behaving like normal functional adults and talk things out for once.

"Hello?"

"Chariot?" Croix's voice sounded hesitant. "Uhm… hi. Again. Can… can we talk? Please?"

"Croix." Chariot sighed. "Look, about earlier…"

"I'm sorry." Croix cut her off. "I know I was a pretty shitty friend in the past. A pretty shitty girlfriend as well, and I just… I don't think I ever apologized for that." Chariot knew that voice too well; that sad-angry tone she always used while mentally kicking herself, being _way_ harsher than needed be.

"I wouldn't say you were a bad friend." She assured her. "I mean, we had plenty of good moments together, right?"

"But I always ended up ruining them!" She protested. "You were right; I shouldn't have abandoned you after you got the shiny rod, or all the other times." She paused, letting out a shuddering breath. "But I was just so jealous, Chariot. I know if I stayed, I would only end up hurting you even more."

"Are you sure about that?" Chariot couldn't help sounding somewhat bitter. "I mean, every time you left me alone you broke my heart."

"I know." Now Croix's voice sounded strangled. "But being alone is how I deal with my own demons. With my problems." She sighed. "I had to convince myself that you getting the rod wasn't so bad, and I couldn't do that when that stupid thing mocked me cruelly with its mere presence."

"Wait… _really_? You left because you needed some time alone? I thought it was because you hated me!" Chariot didn't know if she should be happy by the revelation, but it sure helped ease the pain in her chest just the tiniest bit.

"I've never hated you, Cherry. I know it seemed like that sometimes, but… I think I may be physically incapable of hating you."

"… Cherry?" She'd heard correctly, right? Croix had resorted to calling her by her old nickname.

"Uhm… I-I… I'm sorry. It was a slip of the tongue. I won't call you that again." Croix rushed to say.

"No! It's… it's fine, really." Why did her cheeks feel warm all of a sudden? "You can call me that if you want… Croix-ssant." She couldn't keep herself from teasing her, earning a laugh from her friend.

"Fair enough."

"So… we're good now?" Chariot asked, smiling already now that she'd apparently resolved things with her friend.

"I should be the one asking you that." Croix said. "I mean, I'm the ex-villain with a troubled past and psychological issues. It honestly amazes me you would want to talk to me at all."

Although she said it in a casual manner, Chariot knew better than to believe her façade. Knowing Croix, she had been beating herself up for hours, going down an ever descending spiral of self-hatred, like she had done so many times in the past.

"That' not true. You are great." She quickly contradicted her. "You're just… a little insecure about yourself, but I guess that's understandable, considering the circumstances." Croix hummed from the other end, and Chariot could perfectly picture her pursing her lips. "How is Mellea, by the way? Has she visited you at all?"

"I was hoping to avoid that question." She said with a troubled tone of voice, still, she did answer. "But yes, she came. She pretty much said 'I told you so'. Gosh, she must have been so happy when my technology blew up in my face just like she always said it would."

"Don't say that. She was only looking out for you." Chariot frowned.

"Hmf. Well… we'll have to agree to disagree." Her voice sounded a bit angry, but Chariot knew it wasn't directed at her. "She only wanted a suitable heir; not a daughter."

Chariot could only sigh in response; this was a talk they'd had more than a few times in the past and Croix only ever saw the worst case scenario.

"That's just your insecurity speaking; she would have loved you just the same if you weren't the best witch of your generation."

"Right." She didn't even try to dissimulate her skepticism. "That's why she worshipped the ground you walked on; oh, a descendant of one of the Nine Olde Witches? Owner of the legendary Claiomh Solais? Croix, why can't you be like her?"

"That's… not what happened." Sure, she got along well enough with Croix's mom the one and only time she visited her house, but that didn't mean she liked her better than her own daughter, right? Plus, like, her heritage and ownership of a stupid golden rod didn't make her better than Croix in any way.

"Look. My relationship with Mellea is complicated, and it won't be solved overnight." Croix said in the end. "And I mean, we could keep talking about it till the end of time, or until we end up fighting again, but I really don't want to do that. So… can we please talk about something else?"

Now, as much as Chariot wanted to indulge her and make up for how their earlier conversation had been abruptly cut short, she could already feel her eyes getting heavy, and the last thing she wanted was to fall asleep mid-conversation and leave Croix hanging, so…

"Well… I'm actually very tired myself." She yawned. "And I have to wake up early in the morning too. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"… Fine." She agreed, but she did sound a bit disappointed, even if it was obvious she was trying to hide it. "I look forward to it. See you tomorrow."

"Sleep well, Croix."

"You too… my Cherry."

* * *

 **A/N: Well... that was short. But at least we got some adult Charoix. Plus, next chapter will have much more emotional drama, which is always something to look forward to, right? Anyways, if you're still reading and you want to support this fic please leave a review/favorite/follow. I really do appreciate them a lot. So, thank you and see you in two weeks :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	22. Not so happy reunion

**Chapter 21: Not so happy reunion.**

Akko had been thinking hard. So hard in fact, that her head had started hurting. Not about school, or exams, or all the assignments she should be working on, mind you. Unfortunately for her grades, that wasn't what had been on her mind lately. No. What had her so preoccupied was what Ursula-sensei had told her the night prior. About Croix. About how just a tiny stupid object had shaken the foundations of their relationship so deeply.

And honestly? She couldn't wait to hear the rest of the story! Because, really from what she'd heard so far it sounded like the two had been very close. The best of friends. She could even dare say their relationship, as described till this point, was cute. And yet she knew. She _knew_ how their story would end. The two got separated ten years ago, festering resentment for each other and finally antagonizing the other once they were reunited. Which was just _sad_. And she didn't like it. She needed to know if they continued being friends even after the Claiomh Solais. She hoped the real reason they started hating each other was a lot bigger and more dramatic than that.

And she also needed to know if they had truly made up now. If they were friends again.

"Akko?" Akko was startled out of her contemplations when a beautiful voice called to her. She turned around and saw the Cavendish heiress herself, hovering in her broom just a few paces away. Right. She was in the middle of her weekly flying lessons. She shouldn't get distracted.

"Sorry." She squeaked, embarrassed for having been caught not paying attention.

"You seem troubled. Is there something bothering you?" She asked with concern. Damn. Why did she have to be so perceptive?

"It's nothing, really." Akko assured her. "Just… something silly."

"It's clearly not silly for you." Diana insisted, flying closer to her and regarding her intently.

"Well, yeah, but I mean… it's not _super_ important either." When the blonde just kept looking at her, clearly keen on making her speak, she sighed and decided to tell her the truth. "I was just thinking about Ursula-sensei and Croix." She confessed, earning a raised eyebrow from her friend. "I mean, they were so close. They were best friends! But they fought and became enemies and… I don't know. I just don't want something like that to happen to me because my friends are a very important part of my life." She sighed. "Like, I know you guys aren't like Croix and, although I'm similar to Chariot, I'm not her. Still, I can't help thinking about it, you know?"

"So, you're worried that you could fight with one of your friends over something, and that this would end up breaking up your friendship?" Diana inquired, hoping she'd understood correctly.

"Yeah…" Akko trailed off, frowning as she looked into the distance. To the setting sun beyond the horizon. "As I said, it's silly, but… it's not impossible either, right? Especially between you and me."

"Pardon?" Diana startled. That was definitely not something she'd expected to hear.

"What I mean is… we're just too different! It would be easier for a fight to occur between us than, say, between me and Lotte." Akko tried to explain, sensing she was starting to upset her friend. Which was really not her intention at all.

"I… guess I can see your point." Diana admitted with a thoughtful expression. "I come from a prestigious line of witches while you have no magical backgrounds. I'm the best student at class while you're still struggling to catch up with everyone else." Akko winced a little at those statements, being reminded of a time when she was at odds with the girls from the blue team, who tended to belittle her and underestimate her. However, Diana noticed and quickly continued, smiling at her. "I'm responsible, calm and collected, while you're a walking disaster." She chuckled. "And yet I'm just some random girl who helped the famous Akko Kagari save the world and revive magic."

"Diana…" Akko was about to protest about that last statement, but Diana quickly cut her off.

"We're very different indeed. No one could deny that." She paused, staring for a long moment at Akko's right hand before taking it on her own, which caused the cheeks of both girls to burst in flames. "But I guess that's what makes our friendship so strong, right? It would be very boring to only have friends that resemble ourselves."

Akko pondered on her words for a moment. What would life be like if she was only friends with several other Akkos? She would probably be in trouble all the time. She wouldn't have quiet and relaxing moments of contemplation, like this one.

And although hers and Diana's personalities were the most contrasting, she could see what each of her friends brought into her life. Sucy was weird and malicious, but always said what was on her mind, which inspired her to be more honest. Lotte was often the tamer one of the trio, reminding them to take time to relax and study. Amanda was a rebellious delinquent, and usually the only one who went along with her antics without hesitation. Constanze reminded her that aside from magic there were other wonderful things, like modern technology and innovation. Jasminka always gave a happy, relaxed aura that managed to calm her down even when she was the most anxious about something or other.

And Diana? Where could she even start with Diana? She complemented her in every way possible. When she was exited, the other girl was collected. When she was impulsive, Diana reigned her in with her rational thinking. When she was keen on doing something she shouldn't, Diana usually convinced her otherwise. But what was best was that it also worked the other way around! She influenced Diana as much as she influenced her.

"You know?" Diana spoke after a while, a shy smile gracing her already beautiful features and making her look even more breathtaking. "Ever since you went to my home, intruding in my life like you knew what's best for me…" She chuckled. "Well, ever since, I guess I realized I needed someone like you in my life. And I experienced some sort of connection, like…" She trailed off, unsure of how to finish that phrase.

"Like we're two hearts that beat as one." Akko completed it for her, intertwining their fingers and pulling her even closer, smiling adoringly at her friend. She didn't know what compelled her to do that, honestly, but she knew Diana wouldn't mind. And indeed, the girl's smile only grew wider in response.

"That's right. Two believing hearts."

* * *

"Ursula-sensei!" Akko exclaimed as she barged into her teacher's headquarters like usual. The redhead was sitting at her desk, apparently grading some assignments, and jumped upon hearing Akko's entrance. But at least she'd goten used to that enough to not fly right out of her skin anymore.

"Oh, Akko." She smiled as the girl went to sit next to her. "I thought you were supposed to have flying lessons with Diana today."

"I was with her." She answered, beaming. "But I kept getting distracted!"

"Distracted?" The professor's interest peaked at this. Could it be possible that her student was finally starting to recognize her obvious attraction towards the blonde girl?

"Please sensei, will you tell me a story today? I need to know what happened once Croix came back! Did you two reconcile? She did help you find the words, right? Please tell me you two continued being friends!"

"That's what was distracting you?" Ursula couldn't help sounding a little disappointed. But then again, she supposed she had been just as dense as Akko back when she was a student… Or even more so.

"Yes!" The girl admitted. "I've been thinking about it the whole day! If you don't tell me what happened between you and Croix I think I might explode." She made exaggerated gestures with her hands to illustrate her point, which made the older woman giggle and smile fondly at her.

"We wouldn't want that, would we?"

"So you'll tell me?!"

"Yes, make yourself comfortable. I'll prepare us some tea."

* * *

I've been practicing with the shiny rod all of Samhain break. And I'm getting pretty good at it! I can not only use it for casting illusion magic now, but also metamorphosis, levitation, telekinesis, transformation and even strengthening (granted, I didn't dare using that spell for more than five seconds at a time). What's even better though, is that it has greatly improved my magic skills and I can now cast spells with more precision and make them greater and more spectacular! I'm even thinking about going to town soon and show my new tricks off to the kids at the park.

But anyways. None of that matters right now. Right now there's only one person I want to impress. Because today Croix will come back! Finally! I won't be alone anymore!

I await patiently next to the Leyline portal, craning my neck in order to try and see if one of the arriving witches is my friend. First, however, I see Amelia and I greet her politely. Then I see the twins, who insist I join them in Enid's room to catch up, but I decline saying I'm waiting for Croix… which earns me two exasperated sighs and some mean comments about Croix being a boring nerd, which I quickly deny. Still, they end up leaving with frowns on their faces.

I'll make it up to them later. For now, I just want Croix to arrive!

Soon enough, I see my friend enter though the portal, flying on her broom with her usual grace and composure. I wave, of course, hoping for her to notice me, but her eyes seem to be glued to the horizon as she descends towards the broom closet. I am in the middle of the field though, so I have to run all the way across it in order to be there when my friend lands. Once she's gotten off her broom and placed it neatly next to the others, she turns around only to be tackled by the biggest hug of her life. She's barely able to stay standing, honestly, so I have to reign in my enthusiasm just a little.

"Croix!" I pretty much scream on her ear.

"A-ah… Chariot. Hi." She answers awkwardly, trying to push me away. But I don't let go. I've waited way too long for this. "Uh… can you please…?"

"No."

"But…"

"Nope! I missed you too much, you dummy." I cut her off, squeezing her harder.

"So… you're not… mad?" She asks hesitantly.

"You are stupid and I hate you, if that's what you're asking." I answer with a somewhat angry tone of voice. But then I breathe in and try to calm down, after all, starting a fight with Croix right now won't do us any good. "But… I missed you, and if you're willing to put all that business in the past, so am I."

"I see…" She trails off, her tone contemplative. "I missed you too." She finally admits. At her answer, I only end up squeezing her more, despite her still very much trying to push me away. "But I might still use a spell on you if you don't let go of me right now." She then grumbles.

"Right, right." With one last squeeze I finally let go of her and step away just enough to flash her my biggest smile. "Come on! I'll accompany you to your room!"

With that said, I take one of her bags from the ground and start skipping happily towards the main building, with Croix following close behind in a much stiffer and tempered manner. She's also… quiet. More than usual that is, and her eyes are fixed on the ground, like something's troubling her.

Well, that just won't do! So, in an attempt to cheer her up, I decide to initiate conversation.

"Hey, Croix." I call, and wait until she addresses me with a small hum to continue. "How was your break? Did anything exciting?"

"Nothing special." She shrugs, disinterested. "I mostly spent the whole time locked inside my room playing videogames while Mellea yelled at me for being a lazy fuck."

Lazy? _Croix_ lazy? But she must be the least lazy person I know! Granted, playing videogames all day doesn't sound very productive, but she was on break! And she seems _sad_ about what happened, considering how she's almost inadvertently pursing her lips. I guess this Mellea must be somewhat important for her then.

"Who's Mellea?" I find myself asking. Croix literally stops dead in her tracks upon hearing my question, but after a moment of hesitation she shakes her head and continues on, likely trying to pretend that she wasn't startled by my inquiry. Of course, this only heightens my curiosity.

"She's… a-ah… well, she's…" She stutters a little and then opens her mouth a couple of times like a gaping fish. Then, she frowns and looks to the ground once more, tensing her jaw as she answers. "She's my… my mom. I guess." I don't miss the grimace she makes as she says 'mom'. Like it tastes bad on her mouth.

"You… _guess_?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I-I… well… she's not really… we're not…" She pauses, gulping nervously and closing her eyes, stopping once more. I, of course, stop too, waiting for her response. "I'm adopted." She finally reveals, opening her eyes and looking at the ground with a deep frown.

It takes me a few seconds to realize the implications of what she just said.

"So… you're an orphan?" My eyes widen. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Why does it matter to you?" She asks defensively, finally looking up to me.

"Well, in case you forgot, _I_ am an orphan too! And we've had that in common this whole time, and…"

"No, we don't." She cuts me off, snarling. "If you think our situations are anywhere similar, then you're dead wrong."

"B-but… but we…"

"You were raised by your aunt, weren't you? You had a home, someone who loved you, a house all for yourself… that isn't anywhere near comparable to living at the orphanage, being rejected by family after family until I was eight!" She's yelling now, getting too agitated about the subject. Tears have also started to appear on her eyes, so… this must be a more delicate subject than I anticipated. Gosh, I already regret asking. "And then I suddenly had to learn everything from a culture I wasn't anywhere near familiar with just because my new mother was a witch."

"Croix…" I reach out to grab her hand in a comforting gesture, but she quickly pulls away, glaring at me.

"It's just not fair. You get _everything_. You're from a magic family while I was only adopted into one. You have all the power and I don't. You've got the Claiomh Solais, and I only get to be your sidekick." She continues on with that bitter tone that makes me want to either hug her or run away. I still haven't decided. "It's not fair." She repeats. "You didn't even want it. And yet it chose you… why? Because you are from a witching family and I'm not? That's bullshit!"

Oh no. So we're talking about the rod again? I was hoping to avoid that conversation at least for today. But look, it hasn't even been ten minutes since she arrived and we're already fighting because of it. And Croix… gosh, she looks so distressed! I need to do something.

"Croix." I start, taking her hand. She tries to pull away of course, but I hold on tightly. "Croix, I… I don't know why this thing chose me, but I'm certain it wasn't because of my lineage."

"Right." She scoffs. "So two witches show up at the Arcturus tower, one is a first year who can barely cast a spell but is a descendant from one of the Nine Olde Witches. The other is the best student of her generation but has no blood ties to any magic family. And it chooses _you_? It's too much of a coincidence if you ask me."

"… You've given it a lot of thought, haven't you?"

"I haven't been able to concentrate on anything else." She confesses, her strangled voice absolutely filled with rage and distress. Oh, I need to do something! I hate seeing her anything but happy.

"Look, all I know is that I made some sort of connection with the rod. It's somehow tied to my emotions. To my heart. And now that I know that I'm even able to make spells!" I smile, hoping to transmit some of my enthusiasm to her. "In our relationship I've always been the heart, while you've been the brain. So maybe that's why it chose me."

"Are you insinuating that I have no heart?" She snarls.

"No!" I quickly correct. "What I mean is that you always think things thoroughly before making any decision. You're more intellectually-driven. While I… I mainly listen to my heart and let my emotions control me." I keep explaining. "I just don't think you would be able to use it, even if you were chosen."

As soon as those words left my mouth, I knew it was a mistake. Sure, they may be true, considering what I know now about the rod, but I probably shouldn't have said it out loud. Not to Croix at least.

"Oh, so now you're the Claiomh Solais expert?" She says with a bitter mocking tone. I actually swallow at this.

"Well, I wouldn't say _expert_ , but I did spend all break reading and practicing and…"

"Oh, how sweet. You spent a _whole week_ reading! My, surely you know more than me even though I spent _months_ investigating!"

"You know that's not what I meant." I weakly protest.

"Sure." She grumbles. "You know what? I can't even look at you right now. I thought I was ready, but I guess I'm not." Croix then proceeds to rudely yank away the bag I was holding in my hand. And she briskly walks away, hunched in a disheartened posture, without so much as turning around to look at me once more.

Ugh. This didn't go anywhere near like I planned. I mean, yeah, Croix is an emotional mess, but I doubt it's just because of the rod… although that probably still plays a big part on it. But she also appeared very defensive while talking about being adopted, so that must be a touchy subject for her. I wonder if she has told anyone else.

I wish I could do something to help her. To… I don't know, rekindle our friendship. To make her smile once more. But she said she can't even stand to look at me right now, so… what can I do?

I'm starting to feel sad myself. Maybe practicing some illusion magic could help me though… although I couldn't even show Croix how good I've gotten with the Claiomh Solais.

But that doesn't mean I can't still show off my skills to someone who can appreciate them. After all, I've been dying to make an spectacle in town ever since I mastered control over this golden stick; taste its power, see what it can do.

Yes, that'll make me feel better for sure! And maybe then I can try talking to Croix once more. Once things have calmed down a bit.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" I exclaim from my spot next to a fountain in the park. I earn a few curious glances, especially from passing children, but no one actually stops to see me. Still, I don't let that dishearten me and keep trying. "Are you ready to enter a world of magic?!" I exclaim more loudly this time, getting out the shiny rod for emphasis and starting to wave it around, producing a few luminous sparkles of illusion magic.

This time a few people do stop; mainly parents with their children who are now watching me with fascination. Perfect.

"Be prepared, because the greatest show of your lives is about to begin!"

And, over the next half an hour or so, I proceed to show off all my tricks to my growing little audience. Varying from illusion magic of all types (always the fan favorite) to metamorphosis magic (not gonna lie, kids actually got scared when I turned into a lion), and even a bit of elemental magic to make the fountain's waters dance with me. It was honestly an amazing experience! Especially when compared to the minute I used to last with my normal wand. And, sure, the Claiomh Solais is harder to use, but I think I'm already getting the gist of it.

What's best is that I earned so many cheers and smiles! It was amazing seeing all those happy little faces beaming at me with admiration and amusement. Guess my dream is already coming true, huh? I'm already spreading happiness using the power of magic, and let me tell you, that's the most wonderful sensation in the world!

I almost forgot entirely about my fight with Croix. Almost.

Just as I'm readying myself for my closing act, I suddenly spot someone partially hidding behind a tree not so far from here. A figure wearing the familiar dark blue uniform of Luna Nova. Someone with distinctive lilac hair.

"Thank you so much, ladies and gentlemen!" I say, quickly wrapping up my act. "I hope you had fun today and that you'll come and see me next time I'm in town." And with little more than an apologetic smile, I quickly make my retreat, running towards my friend even as clapping and cheering can still be heard. But I don't pay them any mind, because my friend is now already trying to run away.

"Croix! Croix, wait!" I shout as I'm forced to run in in order to catch up with her. "Croix!" Finally, she stops, but doesn't turn around to address me. "Croix, I…"

"So you weren't lying." She says shakily. "You can actually use the rod of seven stars."

"A-ah… yeah. You saw me?" I don't know why, but I feel a bit sheepish about the fact.

"You mean I saw how you used a sacred power to put up an ostentatious display of flashy magic?" She asks bitterly.

"Sacred?" I scoff. "Since when is there sacred magic? Magic is just magic! And I only used the rod because my wand is useless as soon as we leave the school."

"Look." She turns around, finally looking at me. She looks tired and her eyes are red. Has she been crying? "I didn't come here to fight. But I don't think you should be using the Claiomh Solais for that; you have a responsibility to the world of magic, and you should therefore take your quest seriously."

"I _am_ taking it seriously." I protest. "That's why I practiced until I was able to use it, I swear."

"Hmf. Whatever." She grumbles. "As I said, I didn't come here to fight." Then, my friend takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I came here to apologize. I know I'm a mess right now and I've been taking it all out on you, and I'm sorry for that."

"It's okay, Croix. I forgive you." I answer without a moment's hesitation. Finally, she opens her eyes and looks at me, slightly taken aback by my answer.

"The truth is, Chariot, that I can't even look at you- I can't look at that rod without feeling like I was robbed." Her eyes deviate to the shiny object still in my hand, and a deep frown settles in her face. An expression of anger and resentment overtaking her usually beautiful features.

So, I do the only logical thing. I drop the thing to the ground.

"Wha-…" Croix's protest is cut short when I throw my arms around her waist and pull her in tightly.

"You're my friend. My _best_ friend, at that." I whisper in her ear, putting all my emotions into my voice, hoping to communicate to her all that I feel. "Croix, I don't want a stupid golden stick to get between us. I just want to find the words and get over it." I pause, suddenly feeling my mouth too dry. "I'm only taking on this quest for you. I only learned to use the rod because I know how important this is to _you_." I squeeze her even harder, trying to convey all my emotions in that one simple act. "But if it hurts you so much just by seeing it, then we can just throw the thing in the deepest, darkest pit we can find and forget about it all."

I feel Croix's body start shaking with sobs, and for a moment I fear I ended up upsetting her more with my words. But then I feel her arms wrapping around me too, pulling me even closer somehow.

"I don't deserve you. I really, _really_ don't."

"Love isn't about deserving, silly." I say playfully. "I'm giving it to you, whether you like it or not, simply because you're my friend and also the most amazing person I've ever known." It's almost scary how easily those words come to my mouth, even though they are very sincere and heartfelt. But I guess I'm sensing Croix needs some serious reassurance right now, and so I shouldn't be holding anything back.

"Chariot… you never cease to amaze me."

* * *

 **A/N: Well, a little bit of angst is needed every once in a while, right? Plus, now we know a bit more about Croix, so I hope you liked this chapter! And if so, let me know what you think with a review/favorite/follow. Also, if you like this story, you may be interested in reading my newest one (Also Diakko and Charoix), The War of Witches, and I would really appreciate it if you gave it a chance.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading, and see you in two weeks! :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	23. Karen is nice?

**Chapter 22: Karen is… nice?**

I didn't feel like going to class. I just wanted to stay on bed all day and dream of a better life in which the shiny rod didn't exist and my life isn't a complicated mess, and I can just hang out with Croix without a care in the world.

But of course, that wasn't happening.

I had classes to attend, six stupid words to find and a friend to reconcile with.

Thankfully, after yesterday's events Croix no longer hates my guts, but… she was still distant. And her eyes hardened every time she saw the shiny rod, which was the reason I ended up burying it under a pile of dirty clothes, promising myself to only grab it if I was alone or Croix specifically asked for it.

Maybe, just maybe, we will be able to fix the cracks in our friendship. Or so I hope.

For now though, I have other things to worry about. Like the endless Numerology class, or the deadly boring Magical Languages class, or the many other stupid classes I have to sit through during the day and that I had definitely not missed during Samhain break. Like, seriously, just one week is not enough! After all I went through I deserved a whole month of vacations! … Although I don't think I could survive all that time by myself. After just a few days I was already going crazy!

But anyways, point is, by the time classes end for the day, all I can do is drop down on my bed and mope because I'm tired, frustrated, and I haven't seen Croix since yesterday. Like she's avoiding me.

Ugh! Why did this stupid rod have to choose me?

Subconsciously, I let my hand drop from the mattress and search under the bed until I come across a metallic object. Like I've been doing ever since I got it, I raise it above me as I lay on my back, practically having a staring contest with it. Like, sure, it's been a huge help when it comes to my spectacles; it proved as much yesterday, but… I just wished the whole seven words quest didn't come with it. Like, not only do I have the entire fate of the magical world on my shoulders, but now things with Croix has been awkward as ever! And for what? Just because of this shiny, stupid thing!

"What's that?" I startle out of my contemplations once I hear my roommate's voice, and I let go of the rod involuntarily, which of course makes it fall onto my face.

"Ow!" I exclaim, rubbing my forehead. Gosh, how does it hurt! The rod sure is heavy. I wonder how many neurons I lost right now? It's not like I have many to spare.

"Chariot? Are you okay?" She asks, coming to stand next to my bed.

"Y-yeah… yeah, this is nothing." I lie, faking a smile and finally looking up at Karen, who has a rather skeptical stare.

"Okay. If you say so." She says at the end, her eyes deviating again towards the rod that's fallen down next to me. "Anyways, where did you get that staff? It looks… important."

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." I simply answer, sitting up even at the risk of getting dizzy. I just don't like looking up at Karen from so far down.

"Probably." She admits, smiling… though she doesn't seem to be mocking me. Yet. "But I'm still curious as to what your answer would be."

"It's the rod of seven stars." I shrug, already expecting her to laugh on my face. "Claiomh Solais. The first wand. The rod that belonged to Woodward."

"… Now I see why you said I wouldn't believe you." She says, raising an eyebrow.

"Told you." Well, at least she isn't laughing.

"Why would you have such a thing anyways?"

"I don't know." I answer honestly, deflating a bit. I've been meaning to talk with someone about this for a while and, even though Karen wouldn't normally be my first option, there's no one else here, so… "It chose me for some reason, even if it should have chosen Croix instead. And now I have to revive seven ancient spells and break the seal of the Grand Triskelion, or whatever." I groan, venting out my frustrations on her. "Not by choice, obviously."

"Sounds like you have too much on your plate." She says, and I have to agree with a little defeated hum. "And I doubt you have made much progress, correct?"

"Well, at least I can use it now." I answer defensively, glaring at Karen as if daring her to make another one of her mean comments. "But when it comes to the words… no such luck." I then admit with a grimace.

Why am I opening up to my most hated roommate? I don't really know. Maybe I'm a bit lonely, maybe I need someone to talk to, and maybe she's the smartest person I know aside from Croix. So, perhaps a part of me is hoping she'll help me, but I'm too proud to ask. And she probably won't do it willingly.

"I see…" She trails off, looking to the side, frowning as if considering something, and then her eyes land again on the rod, a thoughtful expression clear in her features. "Have you tried summoning the rod's spirit? I mean, if it really is as ancient as you say, it must have one living inside it."

"How would that help me?" I ask , staring at Karen with newfound interest.

"Well, if there really is a spirit in there, maybe it knows how to unlock the seven words, and could therefore tell you about it."

… Well, that's actually not a bad idea. I'm surprised I didn't think of it before, really. There's only one little problem.

"I don't know how to talk to spirits. Or even summon them, for that matter."

"I could try it." She immediately offers, surprising us both. Then, she coughs and looks to the side, trying to appear disinterested. "I mean, I don't have anything better to do right now, and it would be irresponsible to just leave such an important task in _your_ hands, so…"

"Okay?" Did Karen really just offer to help me? Am I in a parallel universe or something? But then again, I can't let an opportunity like this pass, right?

"Good. Come on, let's go somewhere secluded and with more spiritual energy. That will help with the process."

* * *

We end up at the top of the New Moon tower, just under the Sorcerer's stone. We are sitting cross legged in front of each other, while the rod is just lying there between us; inanimate and silent as always.

" _Turuto_ _estida_!" Karen says once more. She's been casting the same spell for several minutes now, trying different pronunciations and wand movements, but nothing seems to work and, honestly? I'm starting to lose hope. "Ugh! It's useless!" She exclaims, frustrated. "But I don't understand, this thing is old. It's spirit _really_ should be answering by now."

"And… is there no other spell?" I ask, but of course, Karen just rolls her eyes at this, probably exasperated at my lack of knowledge, though she does take a moment to explain.

" _Turuto_ _estida_ is the most powerful communication spell there is, being able to summon even the most ancient and powerful spirits." Her eyes deviate to the rod, glaring at it in frustration. "So, you see, I could use _Turuto_ _tarumare_ or any other spell, and there would still be no results."

I just pout in protest to the condescending tone she used but decide against saying anything. After all, she's out here helping me even if I didn't ask, so I should be grateful, right?

Now, I know Karen isn't exactly an expert when it comes to this type of magic, but I _have_ seen her use this spell a couple of times, and exchange a few words with the spirits. Plus, she's the best of our class and I'm just a dunce, so I really, _really_ , should just keep my mouth shut, but…

"Maybe it just won't work if you do it." I say before I can stop myself. At this, Karen shoots me a death glare that actually makes me cringe. Ugh, why do her green eyes have to be so scary?!

"Excuse me?!"

"I… i-it's just…" I swallow, searching for the right words as to not offend her even more. "It's no ordinary object, right? It specifically chose me, so maybe it will only be able to connect with it's owner."

Karen looks to the side, thinking, before a grimace appears on her face, like she just swallowed a particularly awful-tasting thing.

"That… that would make sense. I guess." She admits reluctantly. "Unfortunately, you don't know the spell and you also don't know how to talk to spirits, so that means this whole thing was a big waste of time."

"Oh, come on! I've gotten better at spells." I protest.

"Yeah, but that's not saying much." I pout at her mean comment, but otherwise decide to ignore her and continue on explaining my idea.

"It can't be that hard, right? And once I summon the spirit maybe you'll be able to talk to it."

"I mean… I guess it's worth a try." She shrugs. "I doubt anything will come out of it though."

"Great! So… what was the spell again?" I ask sheepishly, only to earn an exasperated sigh and an eye-roll from my roommate.

" _Turuto_ _estida_. And you have to be very concentrated and calm for it to work, so… this may take a few tries."

"Right, right." I close my eyes and ready my wand, trying to concentrate solely on the rod that's in front of me; on the connection we have. On my heart, and my love for magic. Like I always do while practicing with this thing. And surprisingly, even if I'm not touching it, I feel it react to me somewhat. Like there's some sort of force responding to my thoughts.

Then, I cast the spell.

" _Turuto_ _estida_."

Instantly, I start hearing something. Like a whisper. More accurately, _many_ whispers. A chorus. But I can't understand what those voices are saying! I then open my eyes, and find Karen looking at me with a bored expression, not at all disturbed by the voices.

"I told you it wouldn't work the first time. Try again." She says.

"But… don't you hear them?" Even as I speak, the whispers intensify, making it difficult to even hear myself.

"Hear what?" She asks, confused.

"The voices! They… they're coming from…" I look at the rod, which surprisingly isn't lit, and the whispers grow in volume and number. It's like they're encouraging me to get closer, to… to touch it.

Before I can really comprehend what's going on, my hand has already extended on its own to reach for the rod, and as soon as my fingers come into contact with the cold metal…

I see Woodward, when she was alive, wielding some sort of axe. I see the base of the New Moon tower. I see some sort of cave, and then many flashes of things that pass too quickly for me to really distinguish anything. And finally… a full moon.

I gasp as the last vision ends. I'm still sitting under the Sorcerer's stone with Karen, and it doesn't seem like anything has changed, but… what the hell was that?! All those whispers, all those visions… were they because of the spell? But… wasn't there supposed to appear a tiny spirit that would simply speak to Karen? I don't understand!

"Chariot? Are you alright?" Karen asks, somewhat concerned, no doubt noticing my utter confusion.

"Fine! I'm… I'm fine." I quickly answer. "I just… uh…" Then, I proceed to explain everything that happened, which makes her adopt a thoughtful expression.

"I see…" She frowns once I finish my explanation. "I don't think I've ever heard of something like this before, but then again, I doubt the Claiomh Solais works like most other objects."

"So… what now?"

"I think it would be good for you to learn spirit language, so you can at least understand the whispers, in case they're saying something important." I nod slowly. That sounds like a lot of work! But then again, I promised Croix I would get the seven words, and I'm not going to back down at the first inconvenience. "I can teach you, if you want."

My head shoots up in an instant, as I startle at Karen's suggestion. I think my ears are deceiving me, or maybe I'm asleep, or something. There's no way _Karen_ just offered me that much help.

"W-what?" I stutter out.

"I mean, I could give you a few lessons after classes, or on weekends. It's not that hard, really. And, as I said, it'd be irresponsible to just let the whole fate of magic rest on your clumsy shoulders."

I open and close my mouth like a gaping fish for a few seconds, searching for an answer, but all that comes out of my mouth is a question.

"Since when are you so nice to me?"

To my surprise, Karen blushes and looks to the side sheepishly.

"Yes, I know. I've been quite harsh with you this whole time, so this can seem a bit weird." She sighs. "But, we're teammates, we're supposed to help each other, and I have to admit, after getting to know you more… you're not _that_ bad."

"What?!" Okay, so I'm still in shock by what she's saying. My mind hasn't quite processed what's happening.

"What I'm trying to say, Chariot, is… I underestimated you. At the broom race you proved you were a capable witch, then in classes you… you've been doing better, somewhat, all thanks to Croix. And also at the Samhain Festival you actually helped decorate the statue instead of being lazy or blowing everything up. So… yeah, I appreciate all the effort you're putting and I… I will try to be a little bit nicer in the future." She shoots me a tiny smile to finish off her little speech, but I still feel weird at hearing so many nice things come out of Karen's mouth. All directed to me, nonetheless!

"So… we're friends now?" I ask hesitantly.

"Don't push it." She immediately makes a face. "Acquaintances?" She extends her hand, like a peace offering.

"Sure." I grab her hand.

* * *

Akko left soon after Ursula finished telling her the little story of the day. The original plan had been that she would teach her Numerology afterwards, but soon after Diana had come saying Finnelan needed the Astrology professor for something, and she herself was going to tutor Akko that day instead.

Of course, when Ursula arrived, she found a very confused Finnelan who had no idea what she was talking about. She had a very strong suspicion as to who was behind the whole ordeal (cough, Amanda, cough), but decided to say nothing, as she was sure whoever had planned it had the best intentions in mind, since it would definitely do Akko some good to spend more time with the Cavendish heir, not just for her grades, but also (hopefully) her obvious attraction for the girl.

But anyways, now she had all afternoon practically free. So, after exercising, taking a shower and having dinner, Ursula decided to call Croix.

And yes, her stomach still turned in nervousness every time she pressed that stupid call button as she fumbled with her sweaty hands. She seriously doubted the nervousness would ever get away. Even back when they were girlfriends she still felt somewhat intimidated whenever she talked to her… or initiated physical contact of any kind.

But now really wasn't the time to be thinking about _that!_ Or else she wouldn't be able to even talk like a functioning human being.

"Hello?"

"Croix!" Her voice came out more like a squeak than anything, so she took a moment to clear her throat and calm down before speaking once more. "H-hey. How have you been? It's been a while."

"I literally called you yesterday." She deadpanned, and Chariot mentally face palmed herself. She had just looked like an idiot, hadn't she? Still, she tried to amend things.

"Y-yeah? Well... It felt like longer."

"Oh?" She could almost hear the smirk through her voice. "Did you really miss me that much? Maybe we should talk more often then, if once a day isn't enough for you anymore." She teased.

"N-no!" She immediately answered. "That's not what I meant!"

"Yeah, should've imagined. Why would you miss someone like me?"

"That's not what I meant either! I-I…" Chariot paused, pinching the bridge of her nose. Geez. This was why she always got nervous when talking to Croix! She inevitably ended up flustered and wishing for Earth to swallow her after saying one-too-many stupid things.

And, as always, she heard a boisterous laugh at the other end of the phone.

"Gosh, this never gets old!"

"Croix!" She screamed with both indignation and embarrassment.

"What? I'm a villain, remember? I'm allowed to have fun." She said rather casually, but before Chariot could chastise her and remind her that she shouldn't say such things around other people, she continued. "And by the way, _I_ did miss you. A lot. I don't think I can do with just phone calls anymore, you know?"

"So what? You want me to… visit you?" She raised an eyebrow. Truth to be told, she had already considered the possibility herself, but between her responsibilities as a teacher and the strict regulations in place at the Witches Prison, she doubted that would be possible in the foreseeable future. Maybe in Summer break. Maybe.

"Nah. That would be very inconvenient for you." She immediately denied, to Chariot's surprise. "Instead, I'd like to visit you."

"What?" Was that even allowed?

"I mean, I know I said I wouldn't return until I found the cure for Wagandea, but… is it even really returning if I just pop by for a quick visit? Or two, or three?" Now, Chariot could imagine Croix's smirk growing with each word she uttered, and the machinations already forming in her mind. Honestly, she had a very bad feeling about this.

"Uhm… would that really be okay? I just don't want you to get into any more trouble."

"If no one finds out, I won't get in trouble." She easily replied, much to the redhead's frustration.

"Croix…"

"Listen, it would be just a quick visit. Five minutes. No one will even notice." She kept arguing.

"But _how_ would you even do that?" She tried to reason. After all, even if she only stayed in Luna Nova for five minutes, the journey there would take at least a couple of hours, even by broom. And teleportation spells didn't work on such great distances.

"You wanna know?" Croix chuckled, no doubt already anticipating her victory. "All you need to do is put the phone screen-up on a flat surface. I'll do the rest."

Chariot would be lying if she said she wasn't curious. Ever since they were little she had always found Croix's inventions fascinating, even if she never fully understood how they worked. But… it was risky. For both of them. Probably an untested technology too. And yet the benefits... Gosh, she had missed Croix so much, she couldn't deny that, but surely she was a mature, responsible woman who could make rational decisions and-

"Okay." She had agreed before she could fully convince herself how bad of an idea this was.

"Tell me when it's ready."

"Done." Chariot said after placing the phone down on the couch, peering curiously at the screen. Nothing really seemed to be happening though. Had Croix actually heard her? Or maybe it didn't work? Or maybe it was all a prank? Or…

Suddenly, something collided with her head, and she backed away, rubbing the sore spot just above her eyebrows. At the same time, she heard someone else groan in pain though, so she made an effort to open one eye and peer over the other side of the couch… where Croix was now also rubbing her forehead and glaring at her.

"C-Croix?" She breathed out, not believing what her eyes were seeing. Her pain was mostly forgotten too. "Is that really you?" She reached out to touch her, half-expecting her to be just an hologram of sorts, but instead, her hand came into contact with her friend's shoulder, startling her a bit.

"Well, that collision wasn't imaginary, was it?" She spat out, still rubbing her forehead. "What were you doing hovering over the phone anyways?"

"I was just curious." Chariot answered defensively as she got up and went to retrieve her wand from the desk. "Stop being such a crybaby, I'll fix you up in a second. _Meiro_ _soruaru_."

A green light then appeared under them, instantly fixing their already swelling foreheads and getting rid of the pain. Once that was done, Chariot carefully tucked her wand inside her desk's drawer (not that she didn't trust Croix, but better be safe than sorry) before going to sit next to her friend once more.

"You've gotten better at that spell." Croix complimented. "Guess you had a good teacher." She then smirked, clearly proud of herself. Chariot just rolled her eyes and gave her a little smile.

"I've also had a lot of practice lately." She admitted. "Being Akko's tutor isn't easy, you know?"

"I can imagine." She adopted a teasing smile. "I also got to use that spell a couple hundred times back when we were students."

"Yeah? Well most of those times was after you beat me up."

"Oh, wow. You make me sound like an abusive girlfriend." She pouted, and there was just no way in hell Chariot would ever admit she looked absolutely adorable like that. But gosh, she looked adorable! Still, she decided to tease her a bit more.

"And you weren't?"

"Okay, I'll admit I got carried away a couple of times, but you were the one who wanted to practice combat magic!" She answered defensively.

"You know I'm just kidding, right?" Chariot said, laughing.

"Well…" She deviated her gaze, adopting a somewhat angry and sad expression. "I made so many mistakes in the past, I wouldn't be surprised if that was yet another one I didn't know about."

"Croix…" Chariot took her hand in a comforting gesture. It was almost instinctive, really. Croix was sad, so she comforted her. Just like old times.

"But let's not talk about that, alright?" Croix quickly dismissed the conversation, getting up and starting to pace around Chariot's room. Honestly, she looked kinda out of place now that she was an adult. Taller, more mature, dressed completely in black… it was all just so different now. But Chariot didn't exactly mind. "So… you really got to keep my old lair, huh? It looks weird like this."

"You mean it's not full of technological junk and ramen cups?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." She chuckled, finally smiling once more as her eyes landed on Chariot. "But I'm surprised you don't even have a bed now."

"I sleep on the couch." She shrugged.

"Oh, yeah. _That_ couch." She then adopted a mischievous expression. "Did you decide to keep it just because it was there where we first fu- ".

Croix wasn't able to finish her question because a hand was suddenly placed over her mouth, and she found a very red-faced Chariot in front of her.

"Croix, please. You know how I've always been about this subject." She pretty much pleaded, her blush going all the way to her ears now.

"You mean the sex subject?" Croix asked after removing Chariot's hand from her mouth. "Come on, we're both adults now! There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Croix, _please_."

"Alright, alright! I'll drop it." She said, lifting up her hands in surrender. "Let's talk about something else instead."

"Thank you." She breathed out in relief. "Anyways why don't you take a seat and tell me how did you get here?"

"Oh, it was quite easy, really." Croix said causally as she threw herself on the couch, with Chariot soon sitting next to her. "I wouldn't want to bore you with the specifics."

"Oh, please tell me." She insisted. "I'm curious as to how you managed to teleport out of a highly secured prison and across half the continent using only a cellphone."

"Heh. It's not the craziest thing I've ever done." She chuckled, but still started telling her everything about how she'd hacked into the prison's security cameras to trick them into thinking she was still in her cell, and how she'd installed a teleportation app in all her smartphones, in case she ever needed it. Since it worked on both magic and technology, the barriers set to prevent teleportation didn't work on it, and distance also wasn't really an issue. She technically could've escaped from prison long ago using just this, but she assured Chariot she wouldn't do it.

All in all, Chariot found herself enjoying the current conversation a lot, even if she didn't fully understand what Croix was saying. It reminded her of the old times, actually; just sitting in the same old couch, listening to Croix ramble for hours and hours until sleep finally caught up with her and she ended up falling asleep. Except this time she made an effort to stay awake, in part because she felt it would be rude, since Croix _had_ escaped from prison just to visit her, but also because… a part of her still didn't fully trust her. And so, she didn't want to leave her alone.

"Chariot?" Croix called, startling her a bit. "Are you still listening? You look like you have something else in your mind."

"It's nothing." She blushed, embarrassed for having been caught not paying attention. "I was just thinking about…" She paused, searching for an excuse, but when she came out dry, she ended up bursting out the first thing that came to mind. "You look good in black." It wasn't really a lie; Croix did look quite pretty even if she was only wearing the black pants and long sleeved black shirt that was the prison's uniform, but then again… Croix always looked good. At least to her.

"W-what?" Croix stuttered, blushing. Just then, Chariot realized that what she said could be interpreted as her making a move, and quickly rushed to rectify the situation.

"Uh, I mean… it's just a compliment, really." She felt as her cheeks burst in flames too as she spoke. "I-I wasn't f-flirting with you, or anything!"

"Uh… okay then. Thank you." She accepted the explanation, much to Chariot's relief. "You look quite beautiful yourself." She then complimented her as well, her blush becoming even more prominent.

Now, Chariot knew she had always been quite beautiful. People reminded her at every turn, especially back when she was Shiny Chariot, but Croix's compliment still made her feel safe-conscious. She was only wearing a pair of red pants and a white t-shirt that was her pajama. And she was also wearing glasses and had her hair combed like her Ursula persona. A look she had chosen precisely because it made her stand out less and appear more sheepish and like a bookworm.

But now she wished she had dressed more like herself and less like Ursula.

"Oh, please!" She blushed and deviated her gaze to the ground. "I looked a lot more beautiful when I was younger."

"I guess that's debatable." Croix answered. "However, I personally think that the time you looked the most beautiful was when you kicked some Noir Dragon's ass."

"But… b-but I was all dirty and battered, and sweaty, and…!"

"And you looked absolutely astounding." She cut her off, giving her a sincere smile that also looked kinda loving. And just… how was Chariot's heart supposed to take that?! She felt like she was going to have a heart attack from how quickly it was pounding against her chest! And her whole body was now practically in fire. Honestly, she could only do one thing under such circumstances.

Chariot buried her hot face between her hands, trying to hide her very prominent blush. She didn't want Croix to see just how much of an effect she still had on her.

"I hate you so much." She muttered as Croix placed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

"You know I only tease you because I love you, right?" She answered with a small giggle. Still, they both froze at her words, tensing once they realized what she'd just implied. Croix even ended up retreating her arm and backing away from Chariot.

"Uh… I meant…" She cleared her throat, deviating her gaze. "I meant that in the most platonic way possible. I wasn't implying that I still have feelings for you, even after all these years. That would be… stupid." She frowned and her shoulders dropped, her mood suddenly turning a lot more somber. "Like, even if that was the case, why would I tell you? There's just no way someone like you could ever love someone like _me_ , right?" She then chuckled, but it was bitter, and her face looked more like she was making a grimace.

"Croix…" Chariot's heart broke a little once she saw her friend's face and realized she probably did indeed believe what she'd just said. But as soon as she tried to reach out and grab her hand, reassure her and tell that she indeed loved her, at least like a friend, Croix got up hastily and grabbed Chariot's phone.

"You know what? I think I should go. I don't want the guards to check my cell and find it empty."

"Croix, wait!" Chariot got up as well and tried to pry the cellphone from her hands, but it was too late.

"Goodnight, Chariot." And with a blinding flash of light, she was gone.

* * *

 **A/N: Unsurprisingly, this time I enjoyed more writting the present scene than the past one lol. And I hope you all liked it as well. And if you did, please leave a review/favorite/follow. It really helps. Anyways, see you in two weeks :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	24. The flower and the spider

**Chapter 23: The flower and the spider.**

"Ursula-sensei! Come, quick! It's an emergency!" Those were the words that, especially when coming from Akko, always made the professor run like she was being chased by a wild Cockatrice, trying to get to the fire, explosion, or whatever disaster Akko had caused.

Except that evening, when she got to where Akko was leading her, all she found was the green team sitting at one of the cafeteria's tables while Jasminka arm-wrestled with one of the minotaurs. A small crowd had formed too, consisting of both students and fairy staff, and even ogres. One of the members of this last group was being particularly loud too.

"Come on, you have to win! Avenge me!" He said. Apparently, Jasminka had defeated him before.

Just then, the Russian witch, with a calm and sweet smile, simply applied a bit more force and defeated the Minotaur, earning both cheers and frustrated yells.

"I told you all!" Amanda yelled, a big, smug smile plastered on her face. "Just give up, Jasminka is the strongest one in this school, and those who bet otherwise now owe me ten bucks!"

While Amanda collected her earnings from the bet, a very confused Ursula turned to Akko.

"Uhm… what was the emergency, exactly?" She asked. After all, even though making bets was prohibited at the school, she doubted _Akko_ had brought her there to punish her friends.

"I bet all my money that you can win against Jasminka!" Akko replied confidently, but her teacher paled at this.

"W-what?"

"Don't worry. I know she's strong, but you are _way_ stronger, aren't you?" She winked conspiringly, like it was a secret only the two of them knew.

"But Akko, I can't…"

"Yo, Akko, did you bring your contestant?" Amanda cut off her protests, her gaze alternating from Akko to Ursula. "Seriously? You brought Chariot? I thought you were over that obsession." She deadpanned. Then she turned to address Ursula. "I mean, no offense professor, you're cool and all, but I doubt _you_ will be able to beat the undefeated champion."

Amanda was clearly skeptical of her strength, but Chariot couldn't really blame her. After all, the whole point of her Ursula persona was to appear like a normal Luna Nova teacher. But then again, Akko had already heard the story of how she'd defeated a giant rock monster using only her bare hands, which was probably why she was so confident. Still, she didn't think it was appropriate for a professor to partake in such acts.

"Akko, I really don't…" She was cut off when she turned to see her student and was met with the sight of those infamously cute puppy dog eyes of hers. And then she knew she was doomed. "Alright." She sighed. "But just this once."

"Yay!" Akko cheered as her sensei went to sit in front of Jasminka.

"Heh. Ready to lose all your money?" Amanda asked with a malicious smirk.

"Funny, I was about to ask you just that." Akko replied, still confident as ever, which just earned her a chuckle from her friend.

"Alright contestants, take your positions." Amanda said as she went towards the table, since she was the judge. Jasminka then got in position and offered her hand to Ursula, who took it hesitantly, already feeling a little ridiculous about it, especially since they had a growing audience. But then she was distracted by Amanda making sure their hands were an equal distance away from the table. As she did so, she started explaining the rules.

"The rules are that you can't use magic, you also can't cheat by using both hands or whatever, and whoever touches the table first loses, alright?" When they both nodded, she smiled, satisfied. "Good. Now… ready, go!"

As soon as Amanda said 'go', Ursula started feeling an immense force pushing against her arm, almost catching her by surprise. She probably would have ended up losing just because she wasn't prepared, but her body reacted before her mind could catch on. And in a blink of an eye, Jasminka's hand had already hit the table.

There was a moment of stunned silence, after which their little audience erupted in cheers and claps, making Chariot's cheeks turn a bright shade of red. She had never intended to make a spectacle out of her strength.

"Ha!" Akko was, of course, the loudest. And she didn't mind rubbing her victory all over Amanda's face. "What did you say about me losing my money? Who's gonna lose now?"

"Uh… Two out of three?"

* * *

"Sensei, that was amazing! You are so strong, I almost can't believe it! It was a leap of faith, really, since you only told me about it in one of your stories." Akko said while the professor walked her back to the Astronomy tower, where they were supposed to study before they'd been interrupted by Akko's "emergency".

"A-ah, well… it's not that big of a deal. Anyone can learn strengthening magic, really." She answered, still sheepish about what had happened earlier.

"Could you teach me?" Akko asked, stars shining in her eyes at the prospect. After all, having that much strength could technically count as a superpower, right? So she'd be a super-witch!

"I don't know, Akko. The training is incredibly hard and more than a little dangerous. You'd end up getting hurt, and if it goes wrong you might be incapacitated for months." She answered, adopting a more serious tone to convey just how dangerous it could be. After all, she didn't want Akko to treat it as a game.

"Really? Who taught you then?" She asked curiously.

"Croix, although she never practiced it herself. But she had read a ton, and decided I needed to learn since I kept getting into trouble… and almost died in a fight with a giant spider."

"That sounds like a story." Akko smirked, making her professor giggle.

"Alright. But afterwards you need to study, okay?"

* * *

Three weeks had passed since the end of Samhain break. And things with Croix have been going… well, I'm not going to say _good_ , because there's still some tension between us, but at least they're better now. She's still tutoring me, we're still hanging out at her lab from time to time, and she even lets me watch as she works on her inventions! In summary, we're still friends… until the shiny rod comes up.

Which is always why I've kept that thing hidden and try not to bring it up around my friend. And that's also the reason I haven't made much progress. Not even with Karen teaching me spirit language! Like, sure, I can understand a couple of words between the whispers now, but nothing useful.

And so, I'm frustrated. And when I get frustrated I usually end up doing something stupid and getting into trouble… and today was no exception.

So, of course I ended up getting punished, together with the mischievous twins, after pulling a prank on Babcock. We stole some ingredients from Lukić's lab and made a potion to then pour it on Babcock's tea, who ended up turning purple and making weird animal sounds. It was honestly a lot of fun! And it wore off relatively quickly too, so no harm done. But the teachers weren't exactly thrilled.

Which is why now the three of us are here, seven in the morning, on _Sunday_ , roaming the forest around the school in search of the ingredients we used, since Lukić insisted she needed them back.

And I mean, yeah, this isn't exactly fun, much less considering we had to wake up super early, but… at least the little prank we pulled was amazing. A welcome distraction from all my problems and the stupid quest that hangs over my head.

"So… next we need a golden snail." Anaid says, reading the ingredient's list.

"That should be easy to find." Her sister shrugs. "I mean, it's _golden_ , and it can't run away or anything."

"But I doubt there are a lot of them, considering how rare of an ingredient they are." I argue. "What else is on the list?"

"A crow's first feather, a red mushroom with purple spots, a mandrake's leaf and a spider's venom."

"Okay then." I say. "I think we should start with the crow's feather. That should be easy enough to find."

And so, we spend the next hour or so climbing trees in order to find a crow's nest, and although we do find quite a few, most of them only have eggs, not chicks. And even less have chicks that are already starting to develop real feathers! Plus, the parents aren't exactly happy with us getting so close to their babies, so we end up with quite a few scratches and bites from their sharp claws and beaks. At one point their attacks are so vicious I end up falling out of a tree, but… in the end Enid finally gets what we're looking for. So that's one ingredient less on the list.

Plus, between all that chaos and searching, I managed to find a golden snail in one of the trees, which means now we only have to find a mushroom, a leaf and a spider. Should be easy, right? I mean, what can be worse than getting attacked by the entire crow population of Luna Nova?

"Hey, look! A mandrake!" Anaid exclaims shortly after we start wandering around searching for mushrooms. We turn to see where she's pointing and, sure enough, there is some sort of plant that kinda looks like a giant lettuce, with a single bud on top of its steam. Thankfully, we don't need a petal; just a leaf.

"I'll get it!" I shout as I start running towards it, eager to get this over as soon as possible. But then, just after I arrive to where the plant is and grab a leaf in order to pull it off, I hear my friend's voices.

"Hey, wait… isn't that plant…?"

"Chariot!"

Before I can even turn around to see why they're suddenly yelling in panic, I feel the leaf I'm holding starting to move. Huh. But… but plants don't move, right? So what…?

I look up slowly, fearing what I might see, and then… oh no. The bud has opened and is now a colorful orange and pink flower with eyes at the tip of its petals, and a mouth in the middle full of teeth. Yep. Sharp, long, dangerous teeth. And of course I can only scream and run for my life. But before I can even take two steps, a vine wraps around my feet and lifts me up in the air, pulling me towards the monstrous flower.

"Aaahhh! Help!" I scream, starting to panic when I feel a sucking motion pulling me inside inch by inch. Thankfully, the teeth aren't as hard as I feared, but they'll still probably leave a scar. Ow.

"Chariot!" Enid calls, wand already out, with a determined expression. Anaid is also by her side but her expression is more fearful than her twin's.

"Help!" I say again, struggling not to get swallowed all the way in. But damn! Who would have thought a flower could be so freaking strong?! Then again, this isn't an ordinary flower, is it?

"What do we do?" Anaid asks her sister. "I don't know any spells against plants."

"A burning spell should work." Enid answers, the tip of her wand lighting up already.

"No!" Anaid places her hand stop Enid's wand. "You'll end up burning Chariot."

Ugh. Croix would've already gotten me out! She probably would have casted some sort of precise offensive spell at the base of this thing and… wait. That's it!

"Cast Murowa! Aim for the stem!" I shout. Just then, this thing takes the opportunity to swallow me whole.

It's wet and sticky in here, but at least smells like roses. This thing, as sentient and carnivorous as it is, is after all just a plant. A stupid ugly plant that apparently doesn't feel a thing when I punch it, kick it and generally try to get out of here.

Thankfully, only a few seconds pass before I suddenly feel like falling and then I hit the ground. Groaning, I open my eyes and see the flower has opened and my two friends are looking at me with concern.

"Ugh." I groan, crawling my way out of the now-dead flower. "Thanks girls. Thank you from saving me from... What was that thing anyways?"

"A mandrake." Anaid deadpans. "Didn't you know they can eat people?"

"I… Of course!" I answer, my pride a bit sore. Because yes, I think I've heard something like that somewhere, but I hadn't remembered it until now.

"Right." Even Enid looks skeptical. Ugh. So now it turns out the twins actually know more than me when it comes to magical stuff?! Maybe I deserve to be called a dunce.

"Come on." I huff. "Let's take a leaf and let's go."

* * *

So we keep wandering around, searching for ingredients for a couple more hours, even if I'm already all tired, sore and dirty and just want to take a hot shower and sleep off the weekend. At the end, we're just missing the spider poison, but since we don't know how to extract poison from a freaking spider, we decide to just take the spider.

Now, the list doesn't say what kind of spider, meaning just any spider should do, right? And I thought a normal spider would be easy enough to find. Except, for some weird reason, we've been searching in every single tree, hole and cave in this stupid forest and there hasn't been one single spider or web in sight. Not. A. Single. One.

"Hey, what if we just go back now and say we couldn't find the stupid spider?" I suggest, tired and frustrated from all of this pointless searching.

"They would never believe us." Anaid objects. "Finnelan would probably come up with another, even worse, punishment."

"But…!"

"Hey, look what I found!" Enid suddenly comes running from our left. She'd gone exploring on her own and has in her hands a flask with some sort of… wait. Is that a tarantula?

"Where did you find it?" I ask, absolutely ecstatic. We can finally return to our cozy dorms and forget about this whole thing!

"There was a very weird cave over there." She answered, pointing to where she had come from.

"You mean the one with a giant sign that said 'Danger' in bold letters?" I ask. Because yes, I came across that same cave earlier, but decided it was better to leave it alone, least we end up getting into even more trouble.

"That's the one!" Enid answers, not concerned at all. "But hey, we have the spider, right? We should go."

"Uhm…" Okay, so common sense would probably tell me to carefully inspect the spider, go see the caves, ensure there's nothing unusual about it and _then_ decide if we should go. But then again, I'm tired, and sick of this stupid quest and just… what's the worse that could happen? "Sure. Let's go."

And so, the three of us start walking back towards the school, almost entirely quiet because of how completely exhausted we are. At this point, I think the only thing that keeps my legs moving is the promise of a warm bed and a good night's sleep. And hey, at least it doesn't take that long! Sooner than I would've expected we reach the base of the New Moon tower, and now we just need to walk a few more minutes before finally getting to the main building and…

Wait. I heard something. Like… cracking? And it's coming from…

My friends also notice and immediately stop, the three of us staring at Enid's bag for a whole moment before it also starts freaking _moving_ , and she finally reacts and opens it, trying to see what's going on. She gets out a flask, but immediately let's go of it as if she had been burned when it moves once more. When it shatters, it becomes clear what was causing the ruckus.

It's the spider; the one from before. It's no longer an ordinary tarantula (which are scary enough on their own) but is now the size of a small cat… and growing.

"Uhm… what the hell?!" Enid exclaims, taking a step back in fright.

"What is that thing?" Anaid asks, trembling from fear.

"I don't know. But I definitely don't want to be here when it grows enough to eat us!" After all, being almost eaten once is enough nightmare-inducing material for one day. I don't need another giant creature making me its dinner.

Thankfully, the twins seem to agree with me and soon the three of us are running like our lives depend on it towards the Luna Nova main building… and the spider is in hot pursuit.

It's a lot more agile than us, not gonna lie, but I was hoping it would slow down a bit as it grew! Which of course wasn't the case. Turns out, having eight legs and the ability to climb along almost any surface is pretty damn useful!

Still, we're almost at Luna Nova now. Just a few more meters and we can let the teachers deal with it instead. Come on, just a little more! Keep running! Keep…!

"Aaaahhh!" I stop dead in my tracks when I hear Anaid scream and see her trip and fall to the ground. And the spider, now the size of a large truck, is hovering over her, ready to inject her with venom using those horrible fangs that could easily pass as swords.

"M-Murowa!" Enid is the first one to react, casting the spell towards the beast head. But the powerful blast of magic that should have at least stunned the arachnid, instead gets captured by its mouth… and swallowed. Instantly, the spider becomes even bigger.

"Shit." Enid curses under her breath.

"We can't use magic on it! It'll only make it stronger!"

"But what do we do now?"

"Heeeelp!" Anaid screams, trying to get away from the spider but being cut off every time she tries to flee. Damn. This thing is fast. And incredibly dangerous. And resistant to magic. Well, there's only one thing to do now.

" _Vega_ _varulus_!" I grit my teeth when I feel the powerful energy filling every limb in my body, already dreading the pain I'll feel for days and days after this. Still, I don't have an option, do I?

Quickly, I run straight towards the spider, something it apparently wasn't expecting because it just stays there, like it's trying to predict what I'm going to do. And what I do isn't precisely graceful, and doesn't have any kind of thought behind it, but hey, it works: I just punch it straight in the face, sending it flying.

After that, it's all just a matter of throwing kicks and punches as fast and hard as I can, while at the same time trying to avoid this thing's fangs and webs. And it's very apparent, when I keep missing hits and getting all sweaty and flustered sooner than I would like to admit, that I need more practice. I was very lucky at Arcturus forest; the rock monster I fought not only had a clear weak spot, but also wasn't very agile and relied solely on brute force. Something that can't be said of this stupid arachnid.

But still, brute force wins in the end and, after deciding I had to immobilize it first and managing to pull most of its legs off, I'm finally able to deliver the final blow, using all the energy I have left to crush its head.

And as soon as it stops moving, I sit down, feeling absolutely drained. I know I lasted way too long this time; it might even be a new record. My head is spinning, my whole body is trembling, and my breathing is shallow and quick. So, it really isn't a surprise when, as soon as I cancel the spell, I collapse and everything turns black.

* * *

Ugh. Everything hurts. Literally _everything_. From my scalp to my toes it feels like every single cell is on fire. Like, geez, I wish I could go back to sleep, but I'm pretty sure it was the pain that woke me up.

Where am I, anyways? The last thing I remember I was fighting with the spider, still a hundred meters or so away from Luna Nova, and then… why am I in a bed? Am I in my dorm?

Using every last bit of strength I have, I lift my eyelids and finally open my eyes. I see a familiar high ceiling above me, made of the sand-colored stones of Luna Nova. The air also smells like medicine, and the bed I'm lying in isn't all that comfy. All in all, it only takes me a couple of seconds to realize I'm in the infirmary.

"Chariot?" A voice comes from my left side, and when I turn my head slightly to look at the person who spoke, I find… Croix? But what is she doing here? I thought Enid or Anaid would be more likely to visit me after what happened. "Chariot, how are you feeling?" She asks apprehensively.

"Fine." I'm barely able to answer, but I try nonetheless. My voice sounded all raspy and weak, but at least I think Croix heard me.

"You scared me, you idiot!" She shouts, making me wince because my head hurts even more. Also, her eyes are so furious, but I don't understand. Why is she mad at me? "Do you have any idea how long you were unconscious? How many spells and potions they tried? You could have _died_!"

What? Surely that can't be right. She's probably exaggerating, isn't she? She's just trying to scare me. But then… why are there tears in her eyes? Why does her voice sound strained?

"I'm okay, Croix." I say, placing my hand stop hers in a comforting gesture, but she only ends up crying even more, furiously trying to wipe the tears from her eyes using her sleeve. But it's useless; the tears just won't stop, and my heart clenches in pain at the sight. "Croix… don't cry, please. I promise, everything is f-…"

"Don't say it." She cuts me off harshly. "Don't you fucking say it." Finally, she uncovers her eyes and stares right at me. With those tear-filled red eyes with black bags under them. Eyes filled with both anger and worry.

"Your heart almost stopped. When the professors managed to bring you here, you were practically dead, and it was only thanks to magic that you were saved." She pauses, fixing me with the meanest glare she can muster. "What on Earth possessed you into using a spell that I specifically told you could easily kill you if used in excess?!"

"I… it was the only way." I answer weakly, deviating my gaze. I don't understand. I shouldn't feel guilty for using my powers to save my friends. Like, I _knew_ the risks. I just didn't think it would end up so badly.

"Promise me, Chariot, that you won't ever, _ever_ , under any circumstances, use it again." I feel her grip tightly my hand. I hear the urgency in her voice, the desperation... and yet… I can't.

It's stupid, I know. I could have died, and I obviously don't want that. I could easily die if I ever use that spell again. I don't even _like_ using it, but… I know, deep down, that I can't make such a promise to her. If she, or any of my friends is ever in danger, I know I won't think twice before using _Vega_ _varulus_ once more.

"I can't promise you that." I say, still not looking at her. Instantly, I feel her grip on my hand tighten, and I quickly rush to keep talking before she interrupts me. "You know how keen I am to trouble, how easily I end up in dangerous situations and… well, with the world's destiny resting on my shoulders, I'm afraid things will only get worse." I pause, taking a deep breath and finally turning to look at her once more. "So you see, Croix, I would love to make that promise, but I can't."

Croix just closes her eyes, breathing in a couple of times as if trying to calm herself down before speaking once more. When she opens them again, they're strict, but also determined.

"If you keep recklessly casting that spell you _will_ die, are you aware of that?" I give her a hesitant nod, and she continues. "And I don't want that happening to you, not only because you are the owner of the Claiomh Solais, but because… because you are… we're… f… f-friends?"

The hesitance and insecurity with which she says it is something really surprising, considering how long we've been friends. Most surprising though, is how she keeps staring at me as if waiting for a confirmation that what she said is true, something that I quickly give her with another small nod. At this, she releases a breath she was holding and then keeps talking.

"Right. So, yeah, we're friends, and although things have been… _awkward_ between us lately, I still c-care about you, so…" She shrugs. "I guess the only solution is to train you properly."

"What?"

" _Vega_ _varulus_ is a spell that needs proper physical preparation in order to be used safely. And I mean _a lot_ of preparation." She explains. "Many witches have actually died just by doing the basic training, which is why it's a forbidden spell. But I guess if I'm there to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't injure yourself, it'll be safer." Croix shrugs, like it's not a big deal, but…

"You would really do that for me?" I mean, not only are we not in the best of terms right now, but I also know how busy she is between her technological inventions, being the best at the school and helping me not being the ultimate witching failure, so… it is a very big deal that she's offering to dedicate even more of her time to _me_.

"Yes. Come on, don't be so surprised." She says, rolling her eyes.

"Thank you!" I exclaim, trying to sit up and hug her, but ending up hitting the mattress once more and wailing in pain. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Heh. You won't be thanking me when you end up just as sore every single day."

* * *

 **A/N: Happy Halloween everybody! (Or should I say Samhain? Nah, I'll leave that for the Samhain chapter... which still feels like it's miles away lol). Anyways, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review/follow/favorite. I'd appreciate that.**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	25. Hardest training of my life

**Chapter 24: Hardest training of my life.**

Akko was about to pass out. Or puke. Maybe both at the same time, really. Why did she think it was a good idea to learn strengthening magic again? Oh, yeah. Chariot knew, and so she just _had_ to know too. But still, she was seriously starting to regret her decision. And they weren't even halfway through!

"Akko?" Ursula called, from her position a few dozens of meters ahead, still jogging in place like they hadn't just been running as fast as they could, trying to escape from a rock golem while avoiding any obstacles that appeared on their way. "Are you alright?"

"I'm…fine." Akko answered, even as she was doubling over, trying to catch her breath. In truth, it felt like her heart was going to come out of her throat!

"Akko!" The professor spoke once more as she quickly came back to where she was, making sure to check on her pulse and temperature before frowning in concern. "You're cold. And your pulse is a bit low. Did you eat anything before coming?"

"I'm fine." She assured her once more, unwilling to give up even if her vision was getting blurry and she was starting to get dizzy. "I ate a fruit tart last night."

"Akko." She sighed. "I told you to eat something beforehand. You need the energy!"

"But I'm okay, see?" The girl tried to muster up a smile, but it ended up looking more like a grimace, and the professor could only roll her eyes at her stubbornness.

"Come on, we'll go back now and get you some breakfast before you pass out."

* * *

The professor pretty much carried her piggyback style all the way to the Astronomy tower, gave her some candy and told her to wait while she went for food from the cafeteria. But Akko was already feeling better, really! Just… a bit weak. Still, when Ursula came back with two trays of food, Akko pretty much devoured her potatoes, and far too quickly the tray was empty. Gosh, she was hungry today! Even more than usual, which was saying a lot.

"You really weren't lying when you said the training was brutal." Akko said, her mouth still full. However, the professor miraculously understood what she was saying, since she chuckled.

"And believe it or not, I actually took it easy on you this time." She answered with an amused smile.

"No way!"

"Oh, yes. Croix wasn't as merciful, you know? After my first training I could barely walk for a week."

"Wow. Sounds… awful." She made a face. And she'd thought Ursula was being unusually hard on her.

"It wasn't that bad." She quickly tried to deny, but then paused as she stared at the ceiling deep in thought. "Okay… it involved lava, magical weights, obstacles and running at maximum speed, so… my younger self would probably disagree with me."

"Please tell me! I want to hear the whole story!" Akko exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Alright. But it'll be a quick story, okay? You need to take a shower before going to class, after all."

* * *

I groan for the umpteenth time as I step out of the school and into the empty sports field. It's not even bright outside yet, and the cold morning air manages to get through the red tracksuit I chose to wear for this. Oh, how I wished I could have stayed in my comfy, warm bed instead! But I promised Croix I would do this, so…

Besides, I do want to learn combat magic. It's very useful, despite the dangers.

"You're late." Croix says as she comes hovering on her broom, with her arms crossed over her chest. "But if I'm being honest, I expected you to arrive even later than this."

"I hate mornings!" I complain, stifling a yawn.

"Me too, but hey, _someone_ has to stop you from foolishly putting your life at risk every two seconds." She answers coldly.

"Croix." I pout. "You said you wouldn't be mean about it."

"I made no promises." She shrugs, a mischievous smile appearing on her face. "Plus, after reading a bit more about the subject, it seems like I'll have to be pretty mean if we want you to learn fast."

"Great." I sigh in resignation. "Should I go get my broom then?"

"Oh no, you're not flying; you're running."

"How come _you_ get to fly?" I say, pouting.

" _I'm_ not the one who wants to learn strengthening magic." She deadpans.

"Still. It's called solidarity." I protest.

"Something I've never had." Croix says in her usual disregarding tone. "And anyways, if you want to keep being a whiny baby, you better find someone else to teach you."

"Croix." I pout.

"Come on. Start running."

* * *

And so, I run all the way from the main building to the New Moon tower, and then to a secluded area in the forest near the North Campus, where Croix says we'll be able to train undisturbed. And, I mean, I consider myself fit. Even strong, compared with most girls, but… gosh was I not prepared to run that much! I have to slow down and even stop several times to catch my breath (and Croix of course yells at me every time, and even threatens me with spells so I keep running), and by the time we arrive to our destination, I'm all sweaty and agitated, and in desperate need of water. Thankfully, Croix was thoughtful enough to bring a bottle.

As I sit down in the grass (more like, ungracefully drop on it), my friend gets out a book and starts reading from it, scanning a few pages before looking up at me and smiling maliciously. I immediately tense, knowing that whatever she's planned, I'm already too exhausted to do it.

"Come on, get up. Stop being lazy." She says, closing the book and getting off her broom.

"I'm tired! Can't I rest 5 minutes, at least?" I plead, but by her downright evil expression, I can already tell it's useless.

"Oh, sure! Let's rest and let all the warming up you just did go to waste so you have to do it again!" She answers, being her usual sarcastic self. I can only pout in response. "Come on, you lazy little shit! Get on your feet now or I will fucking make you."

Ah, yes. She's been like this all morning. Insulting me, threatening me, and generally just being a big, big meanie. And like, I know that's just her way of being strict and pushing me, but… a part of me wonders if she's not enjoying this a little too much. Like she's taking out all the resentments she's had towards me since that fateful day at the Arcturus forest, and using them to train me.

But then again, I can't really get mad at her for that, can I? After all, she _is_ training me, despite still being somewhat mad. Plus, if that's really what's making her so sadistic, she'll probably carry on with her threat, so…

"Ugh." I groan as I reluctantly get up, already starting to regret my decision of accepting Croix's offer to train me.

"Okay. Good. Now, the first exercise is quite simple." She says as she gets out her wand and points it towards the floor. Then, once she pronounces a spell, the Earth itself answers to her magic, making a dozen rock columns surge from the ground, creating a long row. "You need to run to the other side of the field, zigzagging between them as fast as you can."

"Oh. Cool. Sounds easy." I smile. Honestly, I thought this would be a lot more extreme! Didn't she say many witches have died doing it? I'm glad it's not though.

"Not so fast." Croix smirks, again pointing with her wand towards the columns. Two rivers of freaking lava then appear on either side, barely leaving enough space for me to walk between them and the columns. "The path will become narrower the longer you take, so you better hurry."

"H-huh?" Okay. Not gonna lie; I wasn't expecting _that_. But I think that's still somewhat manageable.

"Oh, and one more thing." Oh no. What now? "You're gonna need _these_." As she speaks, she raises her wand once more, only this time pointing towards me, and… huh. Four weird bracelets appear around my wrists and ankles. They're soft, kinda like they're made of cloth, and they're thin, but they feel heavy like metal.

"Uh… what's this?" I ask, eying carefully the little thingies.

"Magic weights." She answers. "They adjust their weight depending on how tired you feel; that way you'll always be at the edge of exhaustion."

"What?" I pale at this. She expects me to run between columns surrounded by lava as fast as I can while wearing _these?!_ This is insane!

"Hey, you were the one who wanted to learn strengthening magic, right? Don't blame me."

"B-but… but- !"

"Start running, or you won't have enough time to reach the other side." She smirks, looking towards the columns. I follow her gaze and notice the path is already being consumed by lava. Instantly I set off, running like my life depends on it.

And geez, who would've thought a little extra weight could slow me down so much! Although I try my best, it feels like my limbs are made of lead, and I have to make a conscious effort every time I lift my feet off the ground. And the heat emanating from the lava really isn't helping! I need to go faster. But with each step I take I feel like I have less room to maneuver; the lava keeps getting closer, and closer, and closer, until the soles of my shoes start letting out smoke every time they touch the ground.

Faster! Faster! Come on, Chariot. You defeated a freaking rock monster and a giant spider. This should be easy! You are the owner of the Claiomh Solais, not a quitter!

Just then, I feel the floor under me starting to crumble because of the lava reaching it, beginning to melt it. There's only two columns left until the end, and merely a small patch of untouched earth, the width of a broom, between them. I know if I don't hurry up, I'll end up falling into the lava and getting seriously burned, but… I don't know if I can make it. Still, I have to try.

With the last of my strength, I jump between the two columns, feeling as the ground starts to disintegrate from under me as intense heat reaches my soles. I hiss in pain, but clench my teeth and steel myself in order to make the final jump. I feel my foot actually sinking a little into the lava as I propel myself forward and, with a cry of relief, I land on the solid ground, scrapping my hands and knees, but otherwise unharmed. Relatively. I'll need a new pair of tennis, that's for sure.

"Again." My head shots up in an instant to find Croix standing next to me, with a clock on her hand and a cold expression on her face.

"What?" I practically whimper.

"You were as slow as a slug. Do it again or this time I'll make the lava appear under you." She answers, a sadistic expression still clear on her face.

"B-but… but I don't think I can do it faster!" I protest. "I'm even more tired now, how can you expect me to- ?"

"Then quit." She shrugs, cutting me off. "After all, aren't you just the dunce of Luna Nova? What made you think you could learn something dozens of far better witches couldn't master? You can't do anything right, can you? I bet you winning the broom race was just a fluke, and the Claiomh Solais? Heh. Woodward probably just wanted to laugh at you when you inevitably fail."

Not gonna lie. That stings. Oh, boy, how it stings! Especially coming from my best friend. From the only person who's always supported me. From the person I care most about.

And I know she's just saying all of that to rile me up. To motivate me. To dare me to prove her wrong. But I just… I can't help wondering if a small part of her actually believes what she said. Especially that last bit about the Claiomh Solais. And especially because of that evil smile that hasn't left her face all this time.

Well, if that's the case, I'm going to prove her wrong! I'll show her I'm more capable than she thinks. I'll master strengthening magic and she's going to be so impressed she'll have to apologize and admit that I _do_ have talent. You'll see, Croix. I'm more than you think!

I get up in one swift jump, feeling suddenly more energized, and fix Croix with a determined glare. Her eyes instantly widen, and she looks slightly impressed for a moment, but then quickly composes herself and adopts a colder façade once more.

"Ready? Let's see if you can do it in less than twenty seconds."

* * *

And so, I keep practicing, doing the same exercise over and over again, to the point where I can hardly breathe anymore, I'm absolutely soaked in sweat, my limbs are trembling like jelly, I can barely keep standing, and the soles of my tennis shoes are pretty much non-existent. Oh, and I also have several three-degree burns, so there's that.

And yes. Croix was just as mean and cold the whole time.

I really, _really_ , don't think I can actually keep doing this every single morning like I promised.

" _Meiro soruaro_." Upon hearing those words, I immediately feel relief. The pain dulls, the trembling stops and I'm finally able to breathe without feeling like I'm fighting for my life. When I look up, of course I find Croix with her wand raised, and a bottle of water in the other hand. A bottle I pretty much tear from her grip before swallowing down all the water in just a few big gulps.

I don't think water has ever tasted this good, honestly.

"Thanks." I say, handing Croix the now-empty bottle after I wipe my mouth using my sleeve.

"You're welcome." She says, but just keeps standing there awkwardly, like she wants to say something more, but is unable to. Of course, this peaks my curiosity and I end up asking.

"Is… everything alright?"

"A-ah… well, I…" She pauses, looking to the side with an almost guilty expression. "I just wanted to say that I… I'm sorry."

"Uh… what?" I don't get it. What is she sorry for?

"For earlier. All the mean comments and the attitude… I hope you know I didn't mean any of that."

"Oh." Croix, you big dummy. "Yeah, I know. No biggie." I assure her, using practically all of my energy to muster up a little smile.

"And also… I'll make sure to buy you a new pair of tennis, I promise." She says, looking down at my now-ruined pair.

"Don't worry about it. They were old anyways." I answer, not wanting her to feel bad for something like this.

"And… I'll prepare a potion to cure your burns."

"Croix, you really don't have to-"

"Yes, I do.." She cuts me off, still looking to my feet. "I'm impressed. You… you lasted way longer than I expected you to for your first time, and considering everything you did, it's really quite a feat that you can even keep standing." Finally, she looks up to my eyes, a small smile forming on her lips. "I have no doubt that, if you keep making an effort and working on this day after day, you will accomplish great things."

I feel my cheeks getting warm, and it's not exactly because of the exercise. I think that's the nicest thing Croix has ever said to me, really. And the way she said it… gosh. Maybe she's trying to melt _me_ into a pool of lava.

"Thanks." I answer shyly. "But I don't think I could do this daily."

"You have to." She frowns. "That's how the training goes."

"But…"

"Chariot." She cuts me off firmly, placing her hands on my shoulders. "I know this is too hard. I know _I_ was too hard. But… it has to be this way. To accomplish anything, you have to make an effort."

"I know, Croix. Believe me, I know. But I-I… I just…" I pause, and upon remembering all the pain I was feeling just minutes ago… all the pain I'm still feeling, the sensation of being absolutely drained, physically and emotionally… "I can't. Not daily. Croix, I-I..." I'm cut off a stifled sob, as tears also start to fall from my eyes in rivers. And I hate it. I don't like to appear weak in front of Croix! She was just saying she was proud of me, and now? What is she gonna think? That I'm just a whiny, stupid, crying piece of-

Huh.

She's... She's hugging me now.

That's new.

"You can, Cherry. I promise, I… I believe in you."

Croix… believes in me? But I thought she was still mad. I thought she was still resentful about the rod. But… I guess training isn't so bad after all. If it gives me a chance to earn Croix's respect and admiration, then I'll do it gladly.

Well, maybe not so gladly. And maybe not daily. But still.

"Thanks." I say, hugging her back as more tears pop out of my eyes. But they're happy tears this time. "Croix… "

"Oh, come on. Stop with the sappy stuff." She says, pretending like she's trying to push me off, but not applying nearly as much force as she usually does. "Besides, you stink. You need a shower _right now_."

"Croix!" Why does she always have to be mean right after being somewhat nice?

"What? It's true and you know it."

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I hope you liked this, as always! Thanks for reading and please leave a review/favorite/follow if you are enjoying this story so far. That'll help me write faster!**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	26. Chariot's birthday

**Chapter 25: Chariot's birthday.**

Akko was getting restless. All she wanted was to finish her homework so that she could go to town with Diana and the others. But she had been reading through dozens of books, making notes and annotations, and yet this thing still felt like it was _infinite_. Why were there so many myths anyways? And why did she have to write an entire essay about them for the Magical History class?!

"Akko. Concentrate." Ursula gently berated her when she noticed her starting to fidget in her seat.

"I just don't know why I have to study myths! They're not real! Plus, it's Sunday and all I want is to go hang out with my friends! Is that so much to ask?!" Akko complained, utterly frustrated.

"You still have about three hours before you're supposed to meet up with your friends, right? I believe it's still more than enough time to finish your homework." The professor answered, eyeing down at the essay that was already more than halfway done. "Besides, even though myths aren't real, there's some truth to them."

"Right." Akko rolled her eyes. She'd read enough myths that day to know that half of them were just fantasy stories some people took a little too seriously. Like, come on! Surely no one believed in a stone that could turn lead to gold and grant immortal life!

"It's true!" Ursula chuckled, sensing her student's skepticism. "I actually have a story about that." She added, recognizing Akko was restless and probably needed a break in order to finish her homework. "Would you like me to tell you?"

"Oh, yes, please sensei!" Akko immediately agreed shutting her books and turning around to give the professor her undivided attention.

"Okay." Ursula chuckled at her enthusiasm, going to take a seat next to her. "This story happened several months after I started to learn strengthening magic, during my 17th birthday." She paused, remembering the events. "All I wanted to do was to stay in bed, but of course Croix was having none of that, so I had a better idea."

* * *

I'm comfortably nestled in my bed. It's still dark outside and the air is cold because of winter being in full bloom, despite the school's weather ball keeping most snow storms out. It is February, after all. 20th to be exact.

All in all, it's the perfect day to stay in bed and do absolutely nothing, except warm up amongst the sheets and dream of a world in which arduous strength training, tedious homework and impossible exams just don't exist.

Which is why my alarm goes ignored. Which is also why I'm not at the sports field at 6 AM, like always. And probably why I'm startled awake when a figure suddenly appears in my room with a flash of light, unannounced, and yells at me.

"Chariot du Nord, what are you thinking?!" Croix says, staring down at me from her position next to my bed. I, however, just groan and pull the sheets over my head. "Chariot!" She tries to yank the sheets away, but I hold on tightly, much to her frustration. "Come on! You promised you would practice at least every other day! But you just come up with excuse after excuse and then complain when you make no progress!" She keeps yelling, exasperated and utterly mad at me. "That way you're never going to learn strengthening magic!"

"Leave me alone." I whine. It's far too early to have this discussion! … Or maybe not? My roommates would've already shut her up if it was still early in the morning. And if they're not complaining about the yelling, then that means…

"Oh, so now you're going to skip school too?" Croix keeps chastising me. "No wonder your grades haven't improved much lately." At this, I finally open my eyes and push down the sheets to glare at her.

"I'm too tired! I fall asleep in class." I complain.

"And then at our tutoring sessions all you want to do is goof around and practice flashy magic." She retorts, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hmf." I pout, looking to the side. She's exaggerating, really. Sometimes I do study and do my homework and stuff. Sometimes.

"Chariot, you are the chosen one. You need to take your quest seriously, to be better prepared, to…" I cut off her usual speech about me having to make an effort and yada yada (seriously, I could probably recite it myself at this point, with how often she says it) by yanking her arm with all my strength and pulling her towards my bed, making her fall on top of me.

"Chariot!" She complains, blushing, but I ignore her as I revert our positions and cling to her like ivy. Man, she makes for a comfy pillow! And with my newfound strength, her poor attempts at getting out of my embrace are pretty much futile. "Chariot, stop it! _We_ need to go to class, and-"

"Stay." Is all I say, nuzzling against her neck. Oh, she smells so good! Like lavender. Did she take a shower before coming? She usually smells like ramen.

"Are you mad?! We have classes to attend, homework to do, tutoring lessons… we should research more about the Claiomh Solais too, to be honest, since you haven't made much progress, and right now you should also be training, and…"

"But it's my birthday." I protest. "All I want is to spend all day with my best friend doing nothing. Is that too much to ask?"

"… wait. Is it really your birthday? This isn't another one of your stupid excuses?" She asks skeptically. And I just look up to meet her gaze with an angry glare.

"Seriously? Some best friend you are! You didn't even remember my birthday!" I pout.

"You didn't tell me!" She retorts defensively.

"Of course I did! Shortly after we met." I keep pouting. I seriously hate whenever someone I care about forgets my birthday, since I make a point of always remembering my loved ones' birthdays _and_ celebrating them appropriately.

"Well… it wasn't important information at the time." She answers almost sheepishly. "I thought I would have gotten rid of you by this point." Then, she lets out a long-winded sigh. "No such luck."

I bite her arm in retaliation for her mean comment, and she immediately complains.

"Ow! It was only a joke, geez! I think I just got rabies."

"I didn't bite you that hard." I roll my eyes. "Besides, you deserve it! And now you have to make it up for me. Not only by celebrating my birthday, but also by giving me a _good_ present, you hear me?"

"Ugh. Seriously?" She frowns, looking to the side. "What's so special about a birthday, really? It's just the date you were born. So what? Why should we celebrate it?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" I mean, as far as I know, everyone loves birthdays, and parties, and gifts… I've never met someone who doesn't _at_ _least_ like their own birthday.

"It's stupid. A waste of time, really." She shrugs. "And I mean, if you want to celebrate it that's fine, but just don't bother asking me to participate." She says in rather salty one. I'm sensing there's more here than she's letting me know.

"What do you have against birthdays?" I find myself asking, despite knowing it's probably not a good idea.

"Nothing!" She answers defensively. "I mean, I don't even have one, so…" She trails off, shrugging, but by her uncomfortable shifting and her lost gaze, I can see this is bothering her more than she would like to admit.

"What do you mean? _Everyone_ has a birthday." As soon as I finish talking, I know that it wasn't the right thing to say.

"Yeah? Well, I don't." She answers somewhat angrily, still avoiding my gaze. "I mean, _technically_ I do. I was born on a specific date about seventeen and a half years ago, but… I just don't know when it was." She seems to notice my confused gaze, since she quickly elaborates.

"I was abandoned at the orphanage the thirteenth day of October, probably just a few days after being born. But no one knows for sure when I came to this world so…" She trails off, shrugging, but her eyes are sad. Sadder than usual. Sadder even than the few times she has opened up about her past before. So, I squeeze her harder between my arms as comfort.

"I'm sorry." I say. Now I feel bad about wanting her to celebrate my birthday. I never considered what a delicate subject it could be for her.

"Hey, it's alright." She answers reassuringly, even though her eyes remain somewhat sad. "But yes, I'm not particularly fond of birthdays." She makes a face, but then takes a deep breath in order to calm down. "That said, it would be unfair of me to rob you of such a special occasion because of my own issues, so… what do you want to do?"

"Wait… really?!" I exclaim happily, which of course makes her glare at me for being loud. But I'm honestly too excited to reign myself in! I thought for sure Croix would make me go to class and have a boring normal day of school, but…

"Yes, really." She rolls her eyes. "I mean, I still don't approve of you lazing around and skipping school due to today being your birthday, but… I know these kind of things are kinda important to some people so…" She shrugs, and I squeeze her even tighter, much to her annoyance.

"Thank you, Croix! You're the best!"

"Right." She sighs, trying to push me off to no avail. I'm even stronger now, so there's no way she's getting out of my embrace anytime soon. "Anyways, what do you want to do? It better not be anything reckless or life threatening."

"Hey!" I pout. "No. At first I just wanted to stay in bed all day. But, if you're here, maybe we could go get me a birthday present!"

"You mean like… shopping?" She raises an eyebrow, probably not having expected that answer. Heh. Well, now she's gonna be even _more_ surprised.

"Not exactly." I smirk mischievously before finally letting go of her to reach out for a book that's under my bed. It's a thick book with a leather cover, obviously very old (perhaps dating back to the era of the Nine Olde Witches, honestly) in which various mythical creatures and plants are described. I open it on the page a marked by folding the corner of the page (much to Croix's disapproval), in which there's a beautiful hand-drawn illustration of a bright green fern, in which center a big, blue, ethereal flower is growing.

"What the fuck is _that_?" Croix asks, narrowing her eyes.

Oh, so even Croix doesn't know about it, huh? This should be fun!

"A fern flower." I answer with a proud smile.

"A _what_?" She stares at me in disbelief.

"It's magical. It blooms at night, and only appears to special people, and it's said to be so powerful it could grant them any wish they want!" Like reviving magic without having to find seven stupid words. Or learning strengthening magic without having to exercise to the verge of death every single morning.

"Ah… okay, Chariot, let me explain you something because apparently you don't know a thing about science."

Science? What does science have to do with anything?

"There are two types of plants: the ones that reproduce through seeds, and the ones that reproduce through spores." She starts. "Flowering plants belong to the first group, as the flowers, once fertilized, turn into fruits and produce seeds. Ferns, however, reproduce through spores, which originate on small structures on the back of their leaves." She looks at me to see if I understood what she's saying, but when I just blink in confusion, not sure of what point she's trying to make, she decides to elaborate.

"So, you see, it's literally impossible for a fern flower to exist. It's just a myth that originated in the Middle Ages due to ferns not having obvious reproductive structures."

"But the fern flower is magical. It doesn't need to follow science logic." I argue.

"Even magic follows logic." She rolls her eyes. "Otherwise, it would be impossible to study it."

"I didn't say it doesn't follow any logic. I just said it doesn't follow _science_ logic."

"Literally _everything_ in the world can be explained with science. That's the whole point of science existing." She argues back.

"So what would your precious science say if we go right now to the Mimosa Forest and find a fern flower?"

"That whatever plant we found isn't actually a fern; just a flowering plant that looks like a fern." She deadpans. "There's quite a few, actually."

"But what if it has magical properties?" I keep arguing.

"Then it's a magical plant." She rolls her eyes. "But it probably wouldn't be as special and powerful as legend says. Certainly not able to grant any wishes, or even _chose_ when it blooms, for that matter."

Her words, as discouraging as they are, fill me with determination. I need to prove her wrong! I will show her that fern flowers do exist and that they are just as powerful as legend says, no matter if science may disagree with me. Plus, if we do find it, then I could get any wish that I want, so just that is enough reason to go search for it.

"Okay then, it's decided!" I say, getting up from my bed with one swift jump. "We're going to Mimosa Forest!"

* * *

 **A/N: Fun fact: the Fern Flower actually from Slavic mythology, and obviously isn't real because, as Croix said, it's literally impossible for a fern flower to exist, but in a world of magic, you never know, right?**

 **Well, I hope you liked that chapter even if it was mostly set up for the next. And please consider leaving a review/favorite/follow if you like reading about these two useless idiots XD. Thanks for reading, and see you soon!**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher 13.**


	27. Fern Flower

**Chapter 26: Fern flower.**

Mimosa Forest isn't nearly as ancient and dangerous as the Arcturus forest, but it's almost as magical. It's the only place where you can find Mimosa leaves with magical properties too! Which by themselves are pretty valuable for making potions, as they're used in a ton of different recipes. Still, it's filled to the brim with monsters. Even the dangerous Cockatrice! But alas, it's the only place where the Fern Flower appearance has been properly described and documented, so… here we are.

Sneaking out of school was quite easy, to be honest. Croix casted a spell on me to make it look like I was sick so I could take the day off. She, on the other hand, talked to Holbrooke and said she needed to go to town that day in order to get some things she needed for her thesis project (yes, she's already started to work on it, that nerd). So, after that, it was only a matter of getting the hell out of the school before someone saw us.

Then, while on the way to Mimosa Forest, Croix cast the same protection spell she did when we went to Arcturus forest on our clothes. She also made sure to remind me of all the dangers and to warn me not to use my powers recklessly (i.e. casting _Vega_ _varulus_ at the first sign of danger).

Surprisingly though, the journey to the forest was pretty fast and without much trouble. When we arrived, the sun was just setting, actually. Which is a good thing, because ferns are only supposed to bloom at midnight, which gives us enough time to search. According to legend, the flower will only appear in secluded parts of the forest, where magic rituals have taken place, so it shouldn't be _that_ hard to find. I mean, thousands of witches come here every year to collect Mimosa leaves! Surely some of them also conduct magic rituals! And if not, maybe we can conduct a ritual ourselves. That should count… right?

"We'll leave our brooms here." Croix says, placing hers against a tree next to the Leyline. "It will be easier to search on foot."

"Okay." I easily agree and do as she said, before starting to follow her into the forest.

The forest itself isn't nearly as scary as I expected after being in Arcturus. Despite being winter, the air is moist and warm, and there's no snow in sight. The trees also have a very nice bright green color, and even their trunks are covered by moss and ferns! And there's also bigger ferns growing in the ground, together with Mimosa plants, which are smaller and of a metallic golden-pinkish color, and also close their leaves as we walk next to them.

Of course, I just _have_ _to_ touch every single Mimosa we pass in our way, marveling every time they move. They're just too cute! Kinda like Croix, really; they don't seem to like physical contact, but their reaction to it is just too adorable for me to resist!

"Chariot." My friend speaks in her usual exasperated tone. "If you keep stopping to touch every single plant in the forest, we'll never get far enough away from the main path to actually find a fern flower. If they even exist." In response, I blow a raspberry at her.

"Such a killjoy! It's my birthday, remember? I can do whatever I want, and you can't complain about it."

"I thought the whole point of this trip was to find a fern flower, or rather to _not_ find anything and prove it doesn't exist." She says somewhat grumpily, but there's still some amusement in her voice, so I don't pay her any mind.

"But if we don't find it, it could still exist." I argue.

"I mean, _sure_ , but then again no one has seen a pink flying elephant, but I'm still positive they don't exist." I don't have to look to know she just rolled her eyes.

"Maybe they do." I tease.

"Right." She answers sarcastically. "Next time you'll tell me you actually have more than two neurons inside that big head of yours."

I bump her shoulder lightly in retaliation, but she ends up tripping and hitting a nearby trunk, grunting in pain.

"Ups! I'm so sorry, Croix. I didn't mean to do that!"

"Ugh. It's alright." She answers, trying to compose herself before resuming her walking through the forest. "You're still getting used to your new strength, right?"

"Yeah…" I trail off, giving her an apologetic smile. "But at least that should prove to you that I'm improving."

"At a snail's pace, but sure." She deadpans.

"Hey!" I pout.

"Anyways." She clears her throat. "What are you gonna wish for if we find the fern flower?"

"You mean _when_ we find the fern flower?" I quickly correct her.

"Sure. What are you gonna wish for, then?" She asks, clearly dismissive of what I just said. Still, I decide to answer.

"I'll wish for the revival of magic. That way I can forget about the seven words."

"I don't think a fern flower can grant you a wish that ambitious." She answers. "The seven words are there for a reason, you know? The seal of the Grand Triskelion needs a great amount of energy to be unlocked."

"Well, then I'll wish for the seven words to be unlocked without me having to make an effort! How does that sound?" I huff, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Lazy." Croix deadpans, and I'm about to bump her shoulder once again, but she quickly avoids me, probably not wanting to slam into a tree once more. After that, she keeps a safe distance between us, and I smile shyly.

"Well, then what would _you_ wish for?" I ask. If she thinks my wishes are lazy, then she better have a good one!

"Uh…" She trails off, staring at the sky above us as if in deep thought. "I honestly don't know. Maybe to be the most powerful witch ever."

"Laaame!" I taunt, and she shoots me an annoyed glare.

"What? It's smarter than your wish. If I was more powerful I wouldn't have to struggle with learning spells or casting magic." She says defensively.

"Oh, believe me, I'm pretty freaking powerful (you know, descendant of the Nine and all that), but I'm still bad at school."

"Because you don't pay attention in class and are always lazing around instead of taking some responsibility?" She answers, raising an eyebrow. "But I'm already the top student in Luna Nova. Just imagine what I would do with a little more power!"

Well… I guess she has a point. But I'm not lazy! Or am I? I'll admit lately I haven't been putting that much of an effort, mainly because I don't really care about grades and, as long as I pass, that's enough for me. And thanks to Croix I'm already at that level. I don't need straight A's to know I'm good at magic!

"Anyways." Croix interrupts my thoughts. "I don't know why we're even discussing this. The fern flower doesn't exist, and even if it did, there's lots of interpretations as to what it's powers are."

"Really?" I only read that one book, so I simply assumed the myth went the same in all other books describing the fern flower.

"Yeah. Some say it gives you immense wisdom, or the secrets of the universe, or whatever. Others say it grants you and your true love some sort of blessing. That's why many people used to search for it in couples, and the term "searching for the fern flower" eventually came to mean… getting _busy_ in the woods with someone, if you know what I mean."

"Busy?" I tilt my head in confusion. Is there another meaning of busy I don't know about?

"You know…" She blushes, turning away to look at the distance. "Kisses, caresses… and ya know, sex."

"Oh." I blush too. So _that's_ what she meant by it. "But why would someone prefer getting _busy_ , as you said, instead of searching for a magical flower?"

"Because the fern flower doesn't exist, and sex does, and it's supposed to feel pretty good?" She deadpans.

"So… would you'd rather have sex than search for the fern flower with me?" I pout. Such a good friend she is!

"What? No! I didn't say that! Just…" She trails off, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "You know what? Let's just search for the fern flower and leave it at that, okay?"

* * *

We walk for a few more hours, encounter a few monsters along the way, even a mandrake, but we're able to deal with them quickly and efficiently, as expected. However, even though we find all kinds of ferns, there's not a single one with a flower. Sure, at some point I do think I found one, but it's just a stupid plant blooming right under a fern, giving the illusion that the fern itself was flowering.

And Croix's been getting even smugger every passing minute, and I've gotten more and more frustrated, and the sky is already dark, and it's getting cold, and… just why did I think it was a good idea to search for a stupid flower on my birthday? No wish is worth this!

"Can't you just admit I was right so we can go home? I'm starving!" Croix says with an annoyed tone.

"It's not midnight yet!" I protest.

"Will you keep searching until midnight?" She pretty much whines.

"I will keep searching until dawn if necessary!" Gosh, I wished I was as determined as I sounded.

"Ugh. Why can't you say that about studying? Or reading? Even training! You put effort in the least important things and slack off when it really matters."

"Hey! I thought you would at least be nice to me on my birthday." I pout.

"Yeah, but… just saying, you need to get your priorities straight."

"My priorities are just fine, _thank_ _you_."

"Your priorities are trash, like everything else you do."

I stop dead in my tracks at her words, glaring at her. Seriously, she's not helping! Her negative attitude, her mean remarks, her frustrating confidence that we're _not_ going to find the fern flower any time soon… Ugh! I just wanna punch her in the face!

But… I can't do that. We're friends, despite everything, and I'm way too strong to punch Croix without breaking her nose, so…

"Fine! Then I'll search for the flower on my own!" I yell before storming off, walking briskly into the opposite direction to where we were going. I was expecting Croix to come after me, honestly. To chase me, try to apologize, and promise me we will find the flower, but… no.

"Don't come crying to me when all you find is loneliness!" She taunts instead, letting me walk away until we can't even see each other's wands glowing.

And, you know, as determined as I am to finding the flower… being all alone is making me want to run back to Croix and beg her to go back to Luna Nova. But anyways… the sooner I find the flower the better, right? I mean, what's the worst that could happen?

I'm thinking, maybe I should just rest under this tree and wait until midnight, since the fern flower won't bloom before then, and it's described as having a blue glow, so it should be easy to spot, especially in the middle of the night.

Yeah. I'll just wait here. Under this rather peculiar tree… huh. It's trunk is actually fluffy, with some sort of fibers sprouting from it like fur. And… gosh, is it comfy! It makes me wanna just close my eyes and relax, and…

* * *

"Chariot! Save me!" I hear my friend scream, as the looming monster, a giant that is as tall as the eye can see, and has red marks on his flesh, grabs her and lifts her in the air. I panic, punching him and with as much strength as I can, kicking him, and using some of the spells Croix taught me.

But at the end of the day I'm too weak, and the monster ends up crushing her between his fingers, silencing her screams with a sickening crack. I can only stare in horror as her blood floods out of his fist, a malicious voice repeating one thing over and over again in my head.

"If only you were stronger, or smarter… if you had trained harder, maybe she'd still be alive."

* * *

I wake up with a start, feeling dizzy and disoriented, and also extremely exhausted. I'm also covered in sweat, and… wait...

"C-Croix?" I croak out, looking up at my friend's concerned face. She's sitting next to me, and has some sort of leaf in her hand.

"Idiot." She only says, a clear exasperated tone in her voice.

"Wha-… what happened?" I'm pretty sure I stormed off in a fit of rage, and that she didn't follow me. So what is she doing here?

"Since you're apparently determined to kill yourself by the power of sheer stupidity, I figured I'd better follow you before you ended up dead." She deadpans. "As it turns out, I was right."

"I was just taking a nap." I try to defend myself.

"Right. Under the Bad Tree." She keeps staring at me with a somewhat angry expression.

"The what?" I frown. Trees can't harm you… right? They are just trees! They can't be evil.

"Of course you didn't even research the local flora before deciding to come." She sighs in annoyance. "The Bad Tree is a tree that feeds on people's dreams. Its bark is comfy as a blanket, and it lures you into sleep… and then you never wake up."

"Oh." I see. That's why the bark had those fibers! That's why I fell asleep as soon as I touched it.

"The only antidote are the leaves of the Good Tree." I raise an eyebrow at the explanation, and she quickly continues. "Yeah, quite original names, I know. But thankfully I paid enough attention in class to identify it even in the darkness of the night."

Wait. The Good Tree, The Bad Tree… yeah, I believe I've heard something like that. In class, maybe. Or research I did for homework. But of course I didn't remember at all. And even if I had, I probably wouldn't have been able to identify them.

Ugh. Maybe Croix has a point. Maybe I should put a little more effort in my studies. Maybe I shouldn't be chasing myths in the middle of a dangerous forest in order to ignore my responsibilities. Maybe, just maybe, I should have stayed in bed all day as I'd planned.

"I'm so stupid." I sob out, trying to get up, but having to be helped by Croix due to the feeling of dizziness having not yet gone away.

"Chariot." Croix sighs, taking one of my hands between hers. "Cherry, please don't say that."

"You say it all the time." I argue. And come on, if Croix says it, it must be true.

"Yeah, but… I don't actually believe it." She admits, sending me an apologetic smile. "I don't think you are _actually_ stupid. You just… you should put a bit more effort, that's all. And stop expecting the solution to all your problems to literally fall down the sky."

"I'm sorry." I sob, burying my face in her neck. Thankfully, this time she doesn't pull away like she always does. "You're right. I'm lazy, I'm avoiding my responsibilities, but it's just… sometimes it's too much, you know? Having the fate of magic literally on my shoulders even when I know I'm not the best with in the school by far." I chuckle bitterly.

"Cherry." Croix sighs, her right hand coming to caress my hair softly. "I know this can be tough, but there must be a reason you were chosen. You are brave, and kind, and strong, and have an innate talent for magic that even I can't hope to ever match. Chariot, I'm sure that, if you just made an effort, you could easily change the world."

At her words, I sob even harder and try to get closer to her. I didn't expect such kindness from my usually stern friend, much less after I dragged her into a dangerous forest in the middle of the night, started a fight with her and then almost died to some weird tree. I don't deserve her. I really don't.

"I will make an effort." I promise, separating from her just enough to look at her eyes. "Really, from now on I'll try harder. I just wish one day I'll be worthy of calling myself the friend of someone as amazing as you."

In response, Croix simply smiles softly and moves her hand so it's now cupping my cheek.

"You dummy. You are _already_ worthy." She says. "Even if you're lazy and are always getting in trouble, you have a heart of gold, and always see the good in the worst situations. That's what I like most about you, and I wouldn't trade if for anything in the world."

"Croix…" I can't believe I'm hearing such since words directed at me from _her_ , spoken with so much sincerity and devotion expressed from her eyes. I wished I could reciprocate the gesture, say something just as nice, but… it seems like my breath has been taken away, and so I just kept staring at her with my mouth open like a gaping fish.

"The truth is, Chariot, that…" She gulps, blushing. "I see you as _more_ than a friend. Actually, I li…" Whatever she was going to say is cut off hastily when a bright light suddenly erupts from somewhere to my left. We quickly turn around, still holding hands, but assuming defensive positions, trying to see if there's danger nearby.

But, when the light recedes slightly and our eyes adapt to it, we see… No way! There's… there's a… that's…

"A fern flower!" I exclaim as soon as my eyes land on a plant with bright green leaves and a big blue flower blooming at its center, coated with a mysterious blueish glow.

"What?" Croix asks, confused, apparently still trying to process what she's seeing.

"They really exist! Croix I told you!" I exclaim, going to try and touch it, but being immediately stopped by my friend.

"Wait. It could be a trap." She says, pulling me back. "Let me look at it first."

"Okay." I pout, but end up relenting, letting go of her hand and allowing her to approach the plant first while I keep looking at it from afar. Gosh, it's so pretty!

"I see…" Croix says, frowning as she intently looks at the leaves. "This doesn't look like a fern at all."

"It does to me." I argue, but she shakes her head.

"The leaves are slightly different. Rounder. With a more defined border." She says, but I roll my eyes. Maybe magical ferns just look different to normal ferns! Doesn't mean it's dangerous. "It actually looks like…" She reaches out and touches one leaf, which immediately responds by closing as if scared. Just like…

"A mimosa?" I say, now also approaching to the plant and looking at it intently. I should have imagined! It does look a lot like one from up close. But its leaves are actually similar to that of ferns, so from the distance it's difficult to tell the difference.

"Yep." She chuckles. "This is definitely a mimosa, but a rare variety, apparently, because normal magical mimosas are smaller, with golden leaves and pink flowers."

"But… but it bloomed at midnight, and its flower looks like the illustration I saw in the book, and…"

"Yes. Fern flowers are probably based on this plant's flower." She answers. "But it's still just a mimosa, and I doubt it could grant wishes, but… I guess it's worth a try." And with that, she goes to pick the flower from the plant, holding it in her hands for a moment before offering it to me. "Happy birthday." She says with a tender smile.

I receive the flower, almost trembling from happiness, and stare at it for a long moment, contemplating my wish. Should I wish for the revival of magic? For gaining mastery over strengthening magic without having to train everyday? As I stare into its bright yellow stamens and its glowing blue petals, obviously oozing with power, something tells me it won't grant me those wishes. No. Something this special, which bloomed just when Croix and I were having such a meaningful conversation… it needs to be something I wish from deep inside my heart.

"I wish… that we could be together forever." I say, imbedding those words with all the feelings deep inside me, conveying as much emotion as I can. And suddenly, the flower explodes in a million particles, coating me and Croix with a glowing blue powder.

I laugh when I see her face completely covered by the stuff, and she laughs too, going to wipe her glasses with her sleeve. We must look so ridiculous! But that's okay. I just hope the magic will work; that we will always be together. Speaking of which…

"Just so you know, I wanted to say, before we were interrupted by the flower, that I also see you as more than a friend." At my words, Croix pauses wiping her glasses and stares at me with wide eyes. "You're my _best_ friend." I smile, but she just chuckles and shakes her head. "That's what you meant… right?" I ask, confused at her answer.

"Sure, Chariot." She reassures me, taking my hand once more. "We're best friends."

"Great!" I smile at her, but… is it just me or her gaze looks a bit sad? Maybe it's just because it's dark and we're tired. Yeah. That must be it.

"Come on, let's get back to Luna Nova before something else happens."

* * *

It had been a few hours since Akko left the Astronomy tower to go on an outing with her friends. She had managed to finish her homework on time after the motivating story her teacher told her… though unfortunately she had also gotten ideas about proving the other myths were true as well. And now she was probably about to go on a quest to find the legendary sword Excalibur, or the mysterious Fountain of Youth. At least the young Cavendish was with her, as well as the rest of her friends, so Chariot was positive nothing would happen to her.

Still, she had sent Alcor to keep an eye on the Japanese student and report any eventuality to her.

She would have gladly accompanied her, but she doubted the other girls would appreciate a teacher joining them in their free time. And she also had a ton of things to do at school, like finishing grading an enormous pile of homework and exams, helping out the other teachers solve a myriad of problems, and finally, exercise a bit before going to have dinner.

Once it was already night and she had finished eating, however, the hour came to solve a more important problem at hand.

Croix.

They hadn't spoken to each other in days. Ever since… since her involuntary confession.

She understood why Croix hadn't called her; she probably felt awkward and feared rejection more than anything. But why _she_ hadn't called Croix was a slightly more complicated matter. She… she wasn't sure about what she should say. Should she just pretend nothing had happened and hope everything would go back to normal? Or should she address Croix's feelings and gently turn her down? Or… or maybe… ? No. No, it was… she couldn't. _Shouldn't_. They could never… it just wasn't possible.

Still, despite her complicated feelings, one thing was clear; she cared for Croix. She missed her. She missed talking to her every night, and she didn't want them to fall apart after having just reconciled after ten long years of separation. She didn't know if she could survive other ten years being apart from her lo-… friend. Her… her friend. Right.

And so, that night she finally decided to press the dreaded call button and wait with bated breath for Croix to answer. She was sent to the mail five times, but five times she called again, and finally, when it felt like an eternity had passed, someone finally answered.

"Uhm. Chariot." She heard Croix's voice, trembling from nervousness. "Hi. Uh… sorry. I was in… uhm. The bathroom. Yeah, I'd gone to the bathroom. That's why I didn't answer." Chariot rolled her eyes at the obvious lie but decided not to question her about it.

"Hello, Croix. How have you been these past few days?" She greeted, but couldn't quite help adding a bit more with a somewhat bitter tone. "Quite busy, I imagine, since you didn't even bother to call."

"Uh… sorry about that." Croix apologized awkwardly. "I was… punished." She seemed to doubt before saying the last word. "Yeah. I got in trouble and they confiscated my cellphone."

"Right." That was a lie if Chariot had ever heard one.

"Anyways." Croix quickly tried to change the subject. "How have you been? Busy with your troublemaking students?"

"Oh, the usual." Chariot decided to let it drop for now. "Today I told Akko about the first time you almost confessed your love for me." She didn't know what on Earth had possessed her into saying that, but whatever the case, it was too late to take it back now.

"Ha." Croix chuckled bitterly. "The first of many. And you always remained as annoyingly oblivious as ever."

"You weren't clear enough and I wasn't thinking about romance." Chariot answered. "Considering that, it could have been way worse than just two times."

" _Three_. They were three."

"Three times." She quickly amended. "Not too bad."

"Ha. Tell _that_ to my younger self." Chariot could perfectly imagine her rolling her eyes in annoyance. "I was getting quite impatient, you know? It's one thing to be rejected, but living in uncertainty? That's fucking _torture_."

"Really? Considering how you cut all contact after your accidental confession the other day, I thought you preferred uncertainty."

There was a moment of silence in the other end that extended for so long, Chariot thought Croix might have hung up on her, but then she finally heard her shaky voice.

"That's… different."

"Why?" Chariot couldn't stop herself from asking.

"Because you're not a naïve girl anymore." She answered, her voice sad. "If you reject me this time, it won't be because you're simply oblivious to my advances."

"Croix." Chariot sighed. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to reassure her, but how to do that without giving her false hope?

"I'm scared, Chariot." Croix practically whimpered. "I don't want to lose you. Not again."

Chariot's heart clenched at those words, and at the sad tone she used; at the little whimpers and trembles in her voice, reflecting her own feelings. Her own fears.

"I'm scared too." She confessed. "If you left me again… if you betrayed me one more time… I don't know if I could survive."

"… survive?" Croix asked in a somewhat confused tone. Yet, Chariot was almost certain she had understood correctly.

"The day I went to confront you at the tower, I didn't plan on coming back alive." She confessed. "No matter the result."

"You mean… if you had defeated me, then… You would have…?" Croix trailed off, unwilling to finish that sentence and voice the terrible things that she was being forced to imagine.

"It wasn't the first time I'd thought about it either." She added. Chariot didn't know what was promoting her to make these sudden confessions to Croix, but gosh, did it feel good to get it out of her chest! She had never spoken about this with anyone; not even her aunt. She doubted she would ever tell those things to anyone but Croix. She felt she was the only one who could fully understand what she had been going through.

"I-I… I'm sorry." Croix sobbed. "I'm so, _so_ sorry, Chariot. If something ever happened to you, I don't think I could forgive myself."

"It's… it's alright." Chariot assured her, though she knew she was lying. Even just talking about these things was making her heart feel empty, and cold. It was making her shudder from the pain and loneliness. She needed someone to be beside her, to hold her, to comfort her. She needed, as much as it pained her, she needed Croix. "I just… can you come? Please?"

"You mean you want me to…?" Croix trailed off, unable to keep the confusion and hope out of her voice.

"Yeah. Hold on, I'll put the phone on the couch."

Not even a second had passed after she placed the cellphone down that there was a flash of light and Croix was suddenly there, red-eyed and looking like a mess, like a reflection of Chariot's own self. And the redhead didn't hesitate one second before throwing herself at her arms, holding her as tight as she could and burying her face on her neck. And to her delight, she soon felt Croix's arms also wrapping around her, pulling her even closer.

"Chariot." She sighed in content. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." She answered without a moment of hesitation.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize." Chariot said, shaking her head. "What matters is that you're here now. With me."

"And I will always be." Croix promised, pushing Chariot slightly away so that she could look her in her eyes and cup her face with her hand. "I love you, Cherry. That is something that will never change, no matter how you feel about me." At this, Chariot's heart started beating loudly in her chest, almost like it wanted to burst out of it. "Even if you don't want to see me anymore, even if you find someone else and decide you're happier with them… I'll always be here for you." A few tears escaped Croix's eyes as she spoke, probably because of the knowledge that all of what she'd said was true. Chariot could feel it. The sincerity, the devotion radiating from her voice… it let her speechless. She didn't know what to say, how to answer with words.

And so, she decided she didn't _need_ words.

Chariot just did what her heart told her to do; she leaned down and connected their lips and a desperate and needy kiss, like she wanted to make up for the decade that had passed since they had last showed each other affection in that way, like with just one kiss she wanted to revert time and go back ten years into the past; to a time where everything was simpler, and they could just love each other.

The moment was broken, however, when Croix pushed her away and kept staring at her with wide eyes.

"Wha-… what are you doing?" She asked, blushing madly.

"Kissing you." Chariot smiled cheekily, pleased at Croix's reaction. "I thought it was obvious."

"Y-yeah, but… but _why_?" She asked, still unable to wrap her head around the fact that Chariot-freaking-du-Nord had just _kissed_ her. On the lips. "I thought…" Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by another quick peck on her lips, and a dashing smile from her love.

"Because I love you too." She easily replied. "The reason I was holding back was because I was scared. Still am, if I'm being honest, but…" She gave her another one of those loving smiles that never failed to take her breath away and make her feel like she was floating in the clouds. "I'm willing to take that risk."

"Chariot…" Croix started, but she was again cut off by a pair of lips placed above hers. Not that she was complaining. And this time she was finally able to kiss her back. Passionately. Almost fiercely. And to her delight, Chariot answered with just as much enthusiasm.

They stayed like that for a few more minutes; just kissing each other, showing each other just how deep their affection went simply by pressing their lips together, joining their tongues in a fervent dance, caressing each other, pulling each other close until every inch in their bodies was touching. They both wanted to show the other the intensity of their love, and they didn't mind doing so until their lips started to bruise, and their bodies became sweaty and hot with desire.

"Will you stay for the night?" Chariot asked breathlessly between heated kisses.

"My, someone is needy." Croix answered smugly.

"Listen… it's been ten years." She tried to defend herself, her cheeks pretty much bursting into flames.

"Seriously? In all this time you haven't…?"

"No. Do you want to stay or not?" She practically snarled, getting slightly frustrated.

"With pleasure." Croix answered, smiling as she pressed their lips together once again.

And so, that night they made love each other like nothing else in the world mattered. They connected again in more ways than one, hoping their love would last for many more years to come.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay. things were crazy last week and I didn't even want to write :p. But anyways, it's done now and it has a whole bunch of Charoix, so hopefully that makes up for it. BTW, I did say in chapter 13 that it would only take them 13 chapters more to finally kiss, but I bet you weren't expect them to do so on present time, huh? Well, thanks for reading and, as usual, please leave a review/favorite/follow if you enjoyed, okay? Well, see you in two weeks! :D**

 **PS: I posted an image based on this chapter on my Tumblr, if you want to see it. I'll also post it later on Instagram. My user name in both pages is Tania Hylian.**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	28. The blue moon

**Chapter 27: The blue moon.**

"Professor Chariot!" Like always, Ursula's door burst open at 6pm, except… it wasn't the Japanese girl who usually arrived, but a very agitated-looking Diana Cavendish.

"Miss Cavendish." The professor went to greet her, leaving the papers she'd been grading at her desk. "What can I help you w-?"

"Akko has a sword!" Diana interrupted her, before she could even finish the question. At this, the professor finally noticed the Japanese girl who had arrived a bit later than her blonde companion. And, like the English girl had said, she was holding a literal sword, like those you see in tales about princes and knights, with a golden hilt and a very sharp looking steel blade.

"Akko!" Ursula's eyes widened at this, worried for her student's safety.

"Sensei!" Akko greeted her, like there wasn't anything out of the ordinary about her having such a weapon. "Look, it's the legendary sword, Excalibur! Now I'm King of England… or is it Queen? How does it work when a woman pulls the sword out of the stone?"

"I tried explaining to her that it was all a prank from Amanda, but she won't listen." Diana left out an exaggerated sigh. She certainly seemed to have been dealing with this all day, or at least for quite a few hours. Ursula felt bad for her. But first things first; prying the sharp object out of Akko's clumsy hands.

"You're just jealous that _you_ aren't the Queen of England." She said, blowing a raspberry at her friend, who just rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"It certainly looks like the legend describes it." The professor said, walking towards Akko. "Can I see it?" She then extended her hands towards her, silently asking to take the sword.

"Sure!" Akko said eagerly as she passed the sword to her, wearing a rather proud expression. "Now prove to Diana this sword is the real de-" Whatever she was going to say was cut off hastily as the professor applied a little bit of force on the sword, forcing it to bend before breaking in two. "Sensei!" She gasped in horror. "You broke Excalibur!"

Except, a second later, the broken pieces of Excalibur turned into… a stick. Or, more accurately, a stick broken in half.

"Uh… what?" Akko asked, confused.

"As soon as the object lost its physical integrity, the spell faded." Diana explained. "It's one of the most effective methods of ending transformation spells, and also the least used, since you have to break the original object."

"What?" Akko repeated, now more confused thanks to the explanation.

"What Diana is trying to say…" Ursula interfered, putting the stick pieces away. "Is that Amanda did pull a prank on you and that wasn't Excalibur at all."

"And you knew _that_ before you broke it?" Akko questioned, wearing a little pout.

"Ah… no?" The professor smiled sheepishly. After all, she'd had a strong feeling it wasn't Excalibur, but that was all. "But… such a legendary sword wouldn't have broken just by applying a little bit of force on it… right?" She wasn't even sure about that last bit, to be honest.

"Sensei!" Akko chastised her.

"But it wasn't Excalibur, right? So it's all good."

"You two are no fun." The Japanese girl said, glaring at her friend and her mentor.

"You would've preferred we let you keep thinking you are the new Queen of England?" Diana deadpanned.

"Yes! At least a bit longer!"

"My apologies." She said, yet it sounded more like a formality than a wholeheartedly apology. But then again, Akko knew that that's just how Diana sounded most of the time, even if she was actually trying to express emotion.

"I'm sorry, Akko." The professor interfered, giving her a tiny smile. "Please let me make it up to you." She paused, thinking of a good way of distracting Akko from what had just happened and maybe also cheer her up in the process. "Ah! What about I tell you how I unlocked the second word? You've been asking about it for a while."

"Oh, yes please, sensei!" Akko exclaimed, beaming with excitement at the prospect. The broken sword was mostly forgotten now.

"Would you like to stay too, Diana? I'll prepare some tea." Ursula then turned to address the blonde student, but she shook her head and gave her an apologetic smile.

"I'd like to, but I promised professor Finnelan that I'd help her fix an issue they've been having with the weather ball. I wouldn't want to keep her waiting."

"Oh, I see." Ursula gave her a sympathetic look. Now that she remembered, she had heard something about that earlier, but she didn't think they'd get one of the students involved. Truth to be told, sometimes she felt bad for Diana and the way everyone relied on her despite still being pretty much a kid. She wished she could do something to fix that, but the other professors barely even listened to her, so… "Maybe next time?"

"Of course." Diana easily answered, smiling gently at the professor before turning towards Akko, her expression softening even more; turning almost… _loving_.

"Will you be alright?"

"Of course! I have my sensei!" Akko answered with no hesitation, giving her one of those famous smiles so bright you couldn't help but feel joy deep inside you no matter what you were feeling beforehand. Diana just laughed merrily in response.

"Alright. I'll see you later, or tomorrow during class." She said as she started heading towards the door. "Don't stay past curfew!"

"I can't promise anything!" Akko shouted just as she door closed.

There were a few moments of silence after that, with Ursula going to prepare some tea while Akko sat comfortably on the couch. She would have preferred to stay a bit more with Diana, to be honest, but she knew her friend was a busy woman, and she also didn't mind at all getting to hear another story from her sensei, especially about one of the words! She'd been dying to know more about them.

"So… you and Diana seem to be very good friends." Chariot said not-so-innocently while she waited for the water to boil.

"Hmm?" Akko tilted her head, confusedly. Like, sure, she was good friends with Diana. That wasn't anything remarkable, really… expect for the fact they'd been at odds just last year, but becoming friends was certainly old news. "I mean, she's nice." She ended up saying, shrugging. "And she likes Shiny Chariot."

"She's also quite beautiful." The teacher added. Honestly, it was kinda frustrating seeing the obvious affection these girls shared and still knowing they weren't girlfriends. Is that how her friends felt when they saw her dancing around her feelings with Croix?

"She is." Akko had to admit. "Her hair is honestly the most perfect and fluffy thing in the world!" She giggled, remembering all the times she'd touched it or smelled it, only to have Diana blushing at her actions. "And her eyes are just the most beautiful shade of blue! And her face is just… oh my God, how can she be so _perfect_?!"

The professor could only chuckle at her student's ramblings about Diana, while she served her tea. Honestly, how come those two still weren't official was the mystery of the century.

"It sounds like you really like her." She said, going to sit next to Akko and offering her a cup of tea.

"I do." Akko smiled. "How could I not? She's _Diana_."

"Yeah, but… have you ever thought about her as _more_ than just a friend?" She decided a more direct approach. She knew it wasn't right for her to get involved into her student's personal life, but this was getting ridiculous!

"You think she's best friend material?!" Akko exclaimed enthusiastically, her eyes practically shining with joy like the brightest of stars.

"Ah…" Ursula just stared at Akko. Jeez. Akko really was a lot like her in her younger years, wasn't she? "Maybe you should ask her what she thinks about it." She ended up saying, hoping Diana would tell her how she really felt while confronted with something like this. She wasn't holding her breath though.

"Sure! Now, about the second word…"

"Ah, yes." Okay. Time to tell the story and leave the matchmaking game for later. "Well, it was a few months after what happened in the Mimosa Forest. It was the start of my second school year and I was getting frustrated because I still hadn't unlocked the second word, and every time I saw the Shiny Rod I felt like I was failing. That's when I decided I needed to do something about it."

* * *

I'm getting antsy. And stressed. And bored. And mad. Really, I don't think there are enough negative adjectives to describe how I'm feeling. It's already been nine full months since I got this oh-so-important shiny rod thing, and… it's _useless_. I haven't been able to revive another word; it hasn't glowed even once since that day I used it for the first time. Honestly, all those hours spent at the library and at Croix's secret lab reading book after book are taking a toll on me. And I haven't even found a single clue about that stupid second word! Except its pronunciation, that Croix has made sure I memorize.

What was it, again? Something like Ferrari affection? No. Phai… _Phaidoari! Phaidoari afairynghor_. I think.

" _Phaidoari afairynghor_." I pronounce for the hundredth time, again getting no results at all as I glare at my magic rod. "Come on! Just do the shiny thing! It can't be so hard!" I yell at it.

"You are talking to your rod? Again?" Enid snorts as she comes to sit on the bench next to me.

"Honestly, I think reading so many books is making you even crazier than before." Anaid adds with a teasing tone as she sits on my right.

"I think it's spending so much time with the nerd of Luna Nova what's making her lose her mind." Enid quips in, laughing.

"Girls." I glare at the twins. "Not in the mood."

"But we can't just leave you alone when you are acting so weird!" Anaid berates me, her expression turning slightly more serious as she eyes me with furrowed brows.

"There's really nothing to worry about!" I argue. Because really, getting the mischievous twins involved in something that could change the fate of the magical world doesn't sound smart _at_ _all_.

"You're sitting alone in the courtyard trying to win a staring contest with a golden stick." Enid deadpans. "Of course we're worried about you!"

"Is this because of the Triskelion thing, or whatever?" Anaid asks, sounding slightly more sympathetic than her sister. I just sigh in answer.

Then I slowly turn to look at Anaid and hesitantly give her an unsure nod.

"Just forget about that thing. It's not worth getting all worked over." Enid says cheerfully as she puts her arm around my shoulders, no doubt in an attempt to make me feel better.

"But it's the world-alteration magic!" I protest. "Technically I have not only the ability to change the world, but also the _responsibility_ to do it!" I frown, feeling as my shoulders tense considerably. "I-I… I thought it would be easy; just obtain stupid seven words and be done with it, right? But it's just…! Agh!" I shoot up from my seat and start pacing in front of the bench, glaring holes at the ground as if it had personally offended me.

I see from the corner of my eyes as my friends turn to look at each other, each of them wearing confused expressions. Eventually, Enid talks.

"Only you would think something like _that_ would be easy." I stop to glare at her, but before I can say something, her sister speaks.

"Yeah. I mean, you're trying to revive magic here! Not make pancakes."

"I burned my pancakes the last time I tried to make them." I mumble, pouting.

"My point exactly." She giggles.

"But the first word just came naturally! I just thought it would be the same with others." I argue.

"Maybe it is." Enid shrugs. "Maybe you don't have to do research and whatever; just wait until it's the right moment to say the words."

"But I can't wait!"

"Why not? Magic isn't going to disappear overnight." Anaid answers.

"Because…!" I pause. Why _can't_ I wait? Sure, I've never been good at being patient, but that's not all there is to it. So I try to organize my feelings and put them into words. "I just… it's too much responsibility, okay? Too much stress. I want to get this over with and continue with my life."

"No one is pressuring you to do it." Enid says, but then after a pause adds. "Or is she?" I don't have to ask to know who she's talking about.

"Well, I mean… it _is_ her dream." I answer. "She wants to restore magic so badly and is studying without rest in order to find the seven words." I sigh, running my hand through my hair. "I'd feel bad if I didn't do the same."

"It's not like you asked to be chosen by the rod." Anaid points out. "Really, you should just leave everything to Croix; she's a genius. She can do it."

"I know she can!" I raise my voice unconsciously. "But I want to prove to her that I can do it too. That it wasn't just a mistake for the rod to choose me."

"Knowing you, it probably was." Enid jests, but I remain unamused.

"If you are just going to make fun of me, I'm going to leave." I say, wearing a firm pout on my face.

"Oh, come on, don't be like that." Anaid gives me a gentle smile. "It's not like we have the answers even _Croix_ can't find."

"Yeah, exactly!" Enid seconds her, but then pauses as a mischievous expression forms on her face. "But… I know who may."

"Who?" I ask cautiously. After all, Enid's ideas usually end up getting us in trouble.

"The ghost of the blue moon." She answers with a dramatic voice.

"The what now?"

"The ghost only appears during the nights of blue moon, in a secret cavern located under the tower of the New Moon." Enid explains, still talking as if she were telling a horror story.

"So, tonight." Anaid adds. Her sister nods.

"It's said that it will answer any question if it considers you to be worthy." She finishes.

"Worthy?" I say as I eye the rod still clasped firmly within my hands. I think this is proof enough that I'm worthy, right? I was chosen by a mystical object. The ghost will surely have to answer my questions!

"Girls. We have an excursion tonight!"

* * *

"Maybe we should have told Croix." Anaid says with a slightly scared tone of voice as we step inside the tower of the New Moon, illuminated only by the light of our wands and the blueish glow of the moon.

"No. I want to prove to her that I can do this on my own." I answer, quickening my pace, eager to find that ghost and finally get the answers I've been looking for.

"Besides, she'd probably stop us. It's already past curfew, and she's never been one to break the rules." Enid adds.

I wisely chose not to comment about Croix having a secret, and _very_ illegal, lab at the old Astronomy Tower.

We walk around the stairs at the center of the tower and to the back, where a chapel with a statue of Hecate is located in front of a tall window with the symbol of Luna Nova. The blue light of the full moon enters through it, painting everything with an ethereal glow.

"It's said to be _under_ the chapel, right?" I ask as I kneel down in order to examine the floor, searching for a trap door, or something.

"Yeah, though I don't know how…" Enid stops halfway through what she's saying when the second gem on my rod starts glowing with a green light. I hold my breath when a ray shoots towards the floor, illuminating the bricks in front of us before they start descending, making a staircase.

"Wow." I breathe out. Truthfully, I didn't believe Enid had the facts right. I thought it was only a legend, even if I believed it was worth a shot. But now… it's real!

"You were right!" Anaid exclaims cheerfully.

"I was?" Enid says, clearly as surprised as me. "I-I mean, yeah, I was! I totally didn't just drag you here following a stupid rumor invented by some third years."

"Come on girls, the ghost isn't going to be here forever." And with that, I run down the stairs, not the littlest bit scared about what could be waiting for me down there. I want answers. No. I _need_ answers. And I need them _now_.

The cavern (Blue Moon Abyss, according to Enid) is like any ordinary cavern. Its floor, walls and ceiling are made of sharp-looking black rooks, and there's thankfully more than enough space for the three of us to walk through; the cave isn't too narrow and the ceiling isn't too low. Our wands also provide enough light to see where we are going.

"You said there's a ghost in here?" Anaid breaks the silence after a while, her voice trembling slightly from fear.

"D-don't be a coward, sis. Witches aren't s-scared of g-ghosts." Enid responds, even if it's obvious she's just as scared.

Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I'm not afraid too. But I'm tired of not having the answers, of being in the dark. Of feeling like my dream is farther and farther away the more I reach for it. I just wanted to make people happy with the power of magic! And now I'm being dragged into this whole mess about seven ancient words and whatever. And I don't even know where to start looking for these words, or how to breathe life into them! I need to know if I'll be able to do it; if I will complete this important task and if doing so will also make my dream come true.

So I don't have time to be afraid. I have to keep going.

That's what I'm telling myself when a sudden (and _very_ cold) breeze blows trough from behind us, startling me to the point I let out a yelp. I swear I even heard a voice whispering something, but I can't really make out the words. We stop, too afraid to continue, raising our wands in search for what just made that noise.

"What did you come here for?" The voice says, now more clearly. "Begone. Begone."

"Ch-Chariot." Anaid calls me, making me turn to look at her. I see that she is now hugging her sister, both of them looking around with scared expressions. "I think we should g-go b-back."

"C-come on, Anaid. D-don't be a coward." Enid answers, even as she hugs her back.

"Begone!" The ghost's voice grows louder, making an unpleasant chill run down my back. Still, I try to put up a brave façade. I've been through worse! I've survived the Arcturus forest! I won't be scared by a simple creepy voice.

"If you want, you can g-go." I say, trying to appear confident. "But I will continue. I need answers."

"Are you crazy? We aren't going to leave you all the fun!" Enid protests, looking really offended. Yet, I can see her hands are still trembling. Just like Anaid's … and mine.

In that moment, a deep growling sound resonates throughout the cavern, making the light of our wands suddenly disappear. Instantly, the hairs on my nape stand up. Anaid, however, has a much more extreme reaction; she screams, jumps and starts running, going deeper into the cavern. I quickly go chase after her, but since I can't see where I'm going anymore, I end up tripping with a rock. I prepare myself for the impact with the hard, rocky, ground, but instead I meet something far more terrifying; nothing. I keep falling down with nothing to stop me for a few seconds, but I manage to react in time and jam the shiny rod between the two walls, stopping my fall, even if I do end up hanging in midair. Thank Jennifer this hole isn't any wider!

"Chariot!" I hear one of the twins calling me from somewhere above me. "Chariot, are you okay? Can you hear me?!"

"I-I'm fine." I manage to say, still a little shaken because of the fall. "But I don't think I can get out of here on my own."

"We should tell the professors." Anaid says. I know it's her because Enid would never suggest something like that.

"Are you crazy? They'll expel us!" Enid retorts, sounding clearly panicked.

"But we can't get Chariot out on our own." Anaid reasons.

"Bring Croix! She'll know what to do." I say trough gritted teeth, feeling as the cold metal of the rod digs into my palms, making they hurt to the point I want to let go. Yet, I force myself not to; I don't know how deep this is. The fall could kill me.

"Okay, we'll be right back!"

"Hang in there!"

"Very funny." I reply, even when I hear their steps quickly carrying them away from my location. I hope they don't take long. I don't think I can resist too much longer like this!

Suddenly, I feel the rod slide down a bit, and my heart drops to the pit on my stomach. Maybe these rocks are too soft! What if they don't hold until my friends return?

As soon as that thought enters my mind, I hear a cracking sound and feel the rod sliding down a couple of inches. I scream, dreading the fall, but knowing I can't do anything about it. And then I hear more cracking before the rocks give in and nothing is left to support my weight. Still clutching my rod, I fall down the hole, screaming so loudly my throat starts burning. It feels like an eternity, but it probably isn't more than a couple of seconds before I feel the impact with the hard ground; first my feet, and then the rest of my body.

I groan. Pain is very present on my ankles, knees, hands and chin. I suppose I have more than a couple of scratches and bruises. Thankfully, nothing appears to be broken or otherwise injured beyond that, so I only take a few seconds to regain my breath before getting up with difficulty.

I shake my head, wincing as I feel my whole body hurting, and then, when I'm finally able to take in my surroundings, I notice that I'm in some sort of circular cave. The floor is glowing with an ethereal blue light, allowing me to distinguish perfectly the many paths, separated by columns (which apparently were very rudimentary carved into the stone itself), that lead to this one chamber. But there's also a white light, coming from a figure standing just a few paces away from me, and it's… Croix?

"Croix!" I exclaim as I rush towards her. I don't know why she's glowing, or why there are specks of light floating around her, but it's definitely a relief to find my friend in such a dangerous place like this one. "What are you doing here? Did you come to see the blue moon ghost too?" I ask.

"What are _you_ doing here?" She asks, looking coldly in my direction. I suppose she's mad at me for trying to find an easy route. Again.

"I-I… I came to see the ghost. I'm sorry. I wanted to ask it about the words, you know? I just wanted to prove to you that I can be of help, that I'm not just holding you back from accomplishing your dream." I answer.

"But you are." She smirks maliciously. "The Claiohm Solais chose wrong. You are just an incompetent witch that will never accomplish anything in her life." Her smile widens even more as she says the next words. "Your dreams… will never come true."

I feel a pang of pain of my chest as small cracks appear on my heart with every word that comes out of my best friend's mouth, until it almost shatters completely at the last sentence. Almost. Because those malicious eyes, that mocking smirk, those hurtful words… they are not Croix's. There's no way my best friend would ever say something like this! Sure, maybe she still believes the Claiohm Solais should have chosen her instead; I think so too. But she does think I can accomplish her dream. And she promised to be there to support me. My dream, her dream… they are one and the same. And we'll work together to find them.

"Who are you?" I ask, glaring at the apparition as I clutch tightly my rod, ready to attack if necessary. "Are you mocking me? Why have you taken Croix's appearance?"

The false Croix starts laughing and then disappears into a grey mist, but her laugh remains for a few seconds even after she's gone. Then, more mist starts coming from the ground, taking the form of weird-looking faces of spectrums. I yelp and back away, not wanting to have contact with those things, whatever they are, and hoping the shiny rod will obey me this time in case I have to defend myself.

But it looks like those spectrums don't have the intention to harm me; instead condensing at the other side of the cave and forming… something. It looks like a complex web made of thick roots, but instead of coming from a tree, they come from the wooden face of a woman. At least I think it's a woman. It's hard to tell with the darkness and the fact she's made of wood.

I can't say she isn't unnerving me, with her strange appearance, gigantic stature and blue glow, but I have a pretty good suspicion of who she is, so I won't let her intimidate her. I'll swallow my fear and confront her!

"Are you the ghost of the blue moon?" I ask, trying to ignore my trembling hands and the sweat coating my palms.

"I am. Why have you come here?" It answers… without moving her mouth. The voice is clearly that of a woman, but it sounds like it's being spoken from the bottom of a well, and like it's mixed with other voices. It's giving me the creeps.

"I heard you can answer any question regarding past, present and future. Is that true?" I say, steeling myself.

"I don't know everything." She responds, making me deflate slightly. Did I come all the way here for nothing? "But let me tell you something." She quickly adds. "What I can't answer, no one else can."

Okay. I can work with that.

"Then please answer me: what do I have to do to revive the seven words of Arcturus? Will I even be able to? Will that make my dream come true?"

"You make a lot of questions." The ghost answers with an expressionless face. Yet, for her tone of voice, I can almost imagine her frowning. "Are you prepared for the answers?"

"I am." I answer, clenching my fingers around the rod even more tightly. I'm tired of not knowing what I have to do to achieve my dreams.

But instead of answering me right away, the roots that conform her body start to shift, and in the space they make on the base, right in front of me, appears something resembling of a Leyline. Yet, at the other end of it I can see… myself?

Yes, that's me! I'm showing off my magic, making people laugh and cheer at the spectacle, forgetting all about their sadness and hate. And there's no shiny rod in sight! In the crowd, Croix is also cheering for me. Happier than I've ever seen her.

"That's my dream!" I exclaim, unconsciously taking a step towards the magical portal.

"You can make it a reality." The ghost says. "Simply step inside, and that future will be yours."

"This future… will be mine?" I parrot, taking two more steps towards the portal, utterly transfixed by the wonderful world that can be seen at the other side.

"There's only one condition." The ghost's voice stops me before I can take yet another step. "To achieve this future, you have to erase your past."

"W-what?" I stutter, fighting against the pull that's compelling me to just accept and get into the portal. It's almost like an external force is trying to move my limbs against my will. And the part of me that's trying to resist it is getting weaker by the second.

In that moment, a dozen of luminous yellow spheres appear, floating in the air. They all contain scenes from my past memories; my first day at Luna Nova, the time when I met Enid and Anaid, helping Croix with her experiments, getting the Claiomh Solais… But there are also bad memories. Like failing at my exams, falling from my broom, or being mocked by my classmates.

"Now, let go of the past you don't need." The ghost says as one of the spheres explodes into a rain of shiny yellow sparks. Disappearing. Forever.

Instantly, I feel an overwhelming sense of nostalgia, sadness and yearning, all three combined, taking hold of my heart. Clutching it until it physically hurts.

Then another memory is destroyed. And another. And another. And…

"Wait!" I scream, desperate to not lose any more memories. The portal is long forgotten. "D-don't!"

"Why? If you want to realize your dream, this is the price you must pay."

"Still." I answer, feeling as my throat burns and tears start forming in my eyes just at the mere thought of losing my past.

"So you will renounce to awakening the seven words? To bringing happiness to everyone?" The ghost questions, and my resolve wavers as I gaze once again into the portal, seeing the brilliant future I've wished for since I can remember. It would be so easy! Just one more step. That's all I need! But… is it really worth it?

I bit my lip as I contemplate my options.

"Just to be clear, you would erase _all_ my memories?" I ask.

"Yes. Since the moment you were born, up until this point in your life." She answers, in her usual monotone tone.

What would that be like, I wonder? Would this still be my dream if I didn't have my memories? If didn't remember having lost my mom and my grandma at a very young age, having magic as my main source of happiness, coming to Luna Nova as a kid and being enchanted by it all… would I even _care_ about magic?

More than that. If I don't remember my friends, or Croix, and all of our adventures… will I even be the same person? And not to mention all I have learned throughout the years, especially these past few months. And I don't mean in the academic field either; I learned that even when you don't like someone, if you put an effort and work as a team, you can accomplish great things. I learned that even people with the best of intentions can be wrong sometimes. I learned that you can find your best friend in the person you last expected. And… in the fountain of Polaris I learned that I have to put an effort if I want to be recognized by the others, if I want to make my dream come true.

I take a step back. And then a couple more, glaring at the vision inside the portal.

"No. I can't pay the price." I answer resolutely.

"Will you give up on your dreams then?"

"Of course I won't!" I yell, remembering the silent promise I made to myself at the forest of Arcturus. "But these memories… they make me who I am. All that I've lived through until now has taken me to where I am today." I glare at the ghost. "Sure, I failed, and I whined, and I felt all sorts of negative emotions. But I also learned from it, and emerged stronger than before. More than that; there were always plenty of good things to compensate for the bad ones, and help me achieve greater heights!" I pause, letting my words sink in. "So no, I won't take your stupid deal!"

"You fool!" The ghost growls.

"Say what you want, but I know I don't need a magic portal to achieve my dreams." I retort, feeling surer and surer of my decision as the words come out of my mouth. "I will do it by my own effort! And when I accomplish everything I've ever dreamed of without having to resort to making deals with creepy ghosts, it will be all the more rewarding!"

Suddenly, I feel a familiar pulse of positive energy in my chest, and when I look down, I see that the gems on my rod are shining. The rod is _shining!_ I did it! All on my own. I just have to say the second word now. It's a good thing Croix made me repeat it until it was ingrained into my brain.

" _Phaidoari afairynghor!_ " I yell, overwhelmed by the pulse of energy that emanates from the rod and seems to be synchronized with my own pulsations of emotion and energy, and with the beating of my heart. Again, it's a sensation like nothing I've ever feel before. Something out of this world.

The shiny rod doesn't transform into an arc this time, though; it turns into an axe. And looking at the wooden roots of this ghost gives me a pretty good idea of how to use it.

As soon as the axe makes contact with the ghost's body, however, there's a big explosion of light that blinds me for a moment. When I can see again, I'm in some sort of Leyline, staring at Professor Woodward. Except she doesn't look like a ghost. Then I see a series of images, but they pass far too quickly for me to make sense of them. They are all painted in red and black, and look rather menacing. What is the meaning of this?

But before I can even try to comprehend what's happening, I feel my eyelids get heavy and I close them, letting darkness take me.

* * *

"Chariot! Chariot, please wake up! Chariot!" I hear Croix panicked voice and feel her hands shaking my shoulders.

"Uhmmm?" I'm barely able to mumble as I start regaining my consciousness. Did I fall asleep in Croix's lab again? Why can't she let me sleep for five more minutes?

"Chariot!" Her frantic tone of her voice finally is able to reach my mind as I snap my eyes open with a start, sitting up on the ground.

"C-Croix?" I ask as I see my friend kneeling in front of me. The wand that rests at her side provides enough light to easily recognize her face, but our surroundings doesn't seem so familiar… oh, wait. The cave! The ghost! "Croix, you came!" I exclaim happily.

"Your friends told me what happened, are you okay?" She asks, her hand touching gently my scratched chin. I wince at the contact.

"I'm fine." I lie, but before she can start berating me, I decide to share with her the good news. "I revived the second word!"

"You… what?" Croix's eyes widen, looking at the rod laying on my side, which now has two gems shining in a yellow light, even if it's fading quickly.

" _Phaidoari afairynghor_." A familiar voice sounds to our left, and we quickly turn around to look at the spot where the ghost was just minutes ago (was it minutes, though? Maybe I've been here for hours). There, a swirl of green leaves appears, revealing the ghost-lady we saw at Arcturus forest. Professor Woodward, I think. One of the Nine Olde Witches.

"Woodward." Croix greets her with a strained expression as she helps me get up.

"Professor Woodward, what are you doing here?" I smile at her, trying to be nice to compensate for my friend's rudeness.

"Chariot, congratulations on reviving two of the seven words. I expected nothing less." Her expression is soft, almost like she's… smiling.

"Oh, it was nothing, really." I say modestly, unused to getting compliments from adults. I swear I even blush a little.

"I'm impressed." She continues. "The second word means: you don't get the things that you dream of, you only get the things that you work for."

"No doubt why it took her so long then." Croix intervenes, her tone clearly annoyed. "Chariot is a dreamer, not a doer." I'm about to protest, when Woodward does it for me.

"And yet, when given the chance, she preferred to take the difficult path; to accomplish her dreams by her own efforts." She pauses, her smile now more apparent. "Many would have given in to temptation."

"I simply realized that, no matter how many times I fail and get frustrated, those mistakes make me who I am, and help me being a better person each day." I shrug. "Really, I just needed a creepy ghost to make me see it."

"I know. That's why I decided to give you a little push." She answers.

"Wait… _you_ were the blue moon ghost?!" I practically shriek. "Was this all a test?"

"And you passed it without even studying." Croix says teasingly.

"I did study! I've spent more hours in the library lately that even you do!" I answer indignantly.

"Yeah. Sleeping." She deadpans. I give her my best pout.

"Anyways." Woodward interrupts our little banter. "I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you both. And I hope you will continue working together to obtain the other five words." As she speaks, however, she starts to transform into leaves and disappear. "I hope to see you soon."

"Wait, what's the meaning of the other words?!" I ask frantically. "This would be so much easier if we knew what we're looking for."

But she's already gone.

"Damn it!" I mumble, scowling at the place where she was just a moment before.

"I _really_ don't like that ghost." Croix sighs.

"I admit I'm not a big fan of surprise exams." I agree. "But then again, if it wasn't for her we still wouldn't have the second word, so…"

"You shouldn't have come here alone!" Croix starts berating me, as she was no doubt planning to do before we were interrupted by Professor Woodward. "What if the ghost of the blue moon wasn't so friendly?"

"I still wouldn't say she was friendly." I start, but deflate when I notice her glare. "And I came here with Enid and Anaid."

"Who I would hardly consider to be of any help at all." She deadpans. "Except if you're trying to get yourself killed or expelled. Then they are very helpful."

"I'm sorry." I pout, knowing she only gets this angry and starts criticizing other people when she's worried. "I just wanted to get the second word! And I knew if I told you, you'd probably tell me that I shouldn't rely on magic to solve all my problems, and that I should work hard to get the word on my own." I sigh. "But I was just so tired! I wanted answers, and…"

"I don't blame you." She cuts me off, smiling for the first time since she entered this cave. "And I would have probably come with you if you'd asked me. I'm also getting frustrated with this whole thing."

"I'm sorry." I repeat, feeling even worse now that Croix is being so nice with me.

"It's okay." She places her hand on my shoulder, and my heart does a little jump at the contact. "Just remember: we're in this _together_."

"Don't worry. Next time I get a crazy idea to revive one of the words, I'll make sure to include you in my plans." I giggle mischievously.

"You'll need someone to get you out of whatever mess you get yourself into." She nods, clearly trying to hold back her laughter. "Now come, Cherry. We need to get to our dorms before the teachers find out."

I only stop to pick up the shiny rod, and then we exit the New Moon Abyss. I certainly feel better than when I came in though.

Two words down, only five more to go!

* * *

 **A/N: Well, what did you think about the second word? It's the only one that only takes one chapter to be unlocked, and also the most similar to what happens in the anime, mostly because Chariot explicitly says that Woodward tested Akko like she'd tested her in the past, and also that she ws the one who taught her the meaing of the second word, so... yeah. No much I could have changed here :P**

 **Still, I hope you liked it and that you leave a review/favorite/follow to show me your support if you indeed enjoyed it. Thanks for reading! :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	29. Broom attack!

**Chapter 28: Broom attack!**

"Come on, move that lazy ass!" Croix screams at me while I keep running through the obstacle course she made before hand; jumping over lava pits, escalating walls that literally crumble as I pass, and evading rock columns that suddenly rise from the ground. Just the usual warm up.

I'm not gonna lie and say it's easy and totally pleasant; it's still dangerous and a real pain in the ass, but… I guess I'm getting used to it. More so now that I train almost daily, only taking two days off each week. Croix seems to be pleased by my efforts though, so it's been worth it so far. Oh! And now I can sustain _Vega_ _varulus_ for almost ten minutes without passing away! So, yeah, I'm getting better now.

Finally, after kicking away a rock that Croix threw at me (kicking rocks still hurt, although Croix says it shouldn't at this point, so I don't say anything), I arrive to the New Moon tower, which was our destination today. Usually we'd train at the clearing just a bit further into the forest, but Croix insisted a change of scenery would keep me from falling into a rut, so here we are.

However, I only get a few seconds to regain my breath and drink some water before Croix is yelling at me again.

"Come on, what are you? A turtle? We don't have all day, you slowpoke!"

"Jeez, Croix! Chill out, will you? We're just starting!" I protest, glaring up at my friend who is hovering on her broom.

"I need to be strict if you're going to survive today's training." She answers with a rather sinister smirk. I can only gulp in response.

"… Survive?" I end up asking fearfully.

"Oh, yes. This one will be tougher than usual." She continues, still wearing an amused and evil expression. "Basically, you're going to climb the New Moon tower all the way to the Sorcerer's stone."

"Uh… okay?" I mean, it's not like I've ever done something like that, since we usually use our brooms, and sure, the New Moon tower has _a lot_ of stairs, but I was expecting something a little more extreme.

"Without using the stairs." She finishes, smiling maliciously.

"What?!"

"Oh, and while a dozen of brooms carrying guns attack you."

"WHAT?!"

"And also crows, oh! And the bombs falling from the windows."

"T-that's… that's crazy!" I protest, though I already know it's futile.

"Yeah, I thought so too." She shrugs. "But hey, it's in the books. Can't argue with that."

"I'm starting to think you just want to see me dead." I pout.

"Now, why would I want that?" She asks innocently. "After all, we _are_ best friends, right?" I don't know why even as she says that, I can't help thinking she's taking revenge for something. But at the same time I know she's just trying to help me. In her own weird manner.

"Please don't let me die." I end up saying.

"I make no promises." She smirks.

* * *

Climbing up the New Moon tower isn't as bad as I feared, all thanks to my increased muscle mass. I just have to reach out with my arms and pull, and steady myself with my legs. Well… I also have to be mindful of how small the handholds actually are. But thankfully they're quite abundant.

At first, it's all about getting used to climbing, so Croix just hovers above me not making any movements. But as soon as I am higher off the ground than the surrounding trees, all hell breaks loose. Quite literally.

The first attack comes from a broom zooming towards me at light speed with the clear intention of knocking me off. Thankfully I've been working on my speed and reflexes lately, because I'm certain a month ago I wouldn't have been able to evade that! But after I jump out of the way I don't have time to breathe at all, because suddenly about ten crows come from above and start attacking me with their beaks and claws. I manage to evade them for a while, jumping around the tower, kicking them away and even punching them while supporting my whole weight with my other hand, but… they're robotic crows. _Of_ _course_ they're robotic crows! And so, they aren't even fazed by my counterattacks.

And you know what's even worse? I tried to ascend faster, hoping to end this nightmare sooner, but instead now I also have to avoid the explosive flasks falling from above! Damn. I need to get rid of these stupid crows!

Quickly, I get out my wand. I was hoping to be able to save _Vega_ _varulus_ for later, to be honest, since I still can't last very long with that spell, but I don't see another option here. I won't be able to get rid of those mechanical crows with only my natural strength, so a spell is a must. Plus, with the power of strengthening magic I should be able to ascend faster and easier… right?

Well, I hope so.

" _Vega_ _varulus_!" I quickly cast the spell as I continue to avoid all the attacks being thrown at me, and thankfully this time I'm able to react a lot faster and avoid quite a few pecks from those stupid birds and explosions from the flasks.

I keep jumping and jumping, up, then left, then right, then left again, trying to get a break in order to prepare a proper attack against those crows, but they keep coming at me, apparently out of nowhere, and even with _Vega_ _varulus_ there's just so much I can do. And let me tell you, being hit repeatedly with metal claws and beaks is no fun at all. Actually, my clothes already look like rags and there's even a few stains of blood coming from the cuts they gave me. Thankfully, nothing too deep of cripplingly painful… yet.

Well… time to throw strategy out of the window, I guess!

And so, I start flailing my arms and legs like crazy with all the strength I have, just trying to end this fight as soon as possible. Thankfully, I do manage a few hits, hearing the satisfying crunch of metal being absolutely destroyed under my enhanced strength. But… uh… wow, it _hurts_! Who would have thought that hitting metal would hurt so much?

But at least I do get rid of some of those annoying robots, and soon enough I'm able to ascend more consistently, only having to defend myself a couple of times every minute. Actually, I'm getting near the middle of the tower! But now I face a new dilemma: should I cancel the spell or keep going like this? Like, I know I'm already near my limit with _Vega_ _varulus_. I can feel it within my limbs, which are trembling more the more time passes. But I also know… I've already used too much energy. As soon as I end the spell I'll collapse, and that's not an option when you're so high off the ground! But then again, if I keep going the spell will probably end itself once I'm almost out of energy, and I won't have control of when that will happen. Ugh! What to do?!

As if wanting to make things worse, seven small brooms suddenly come flying down from above, and they… they have _guns_? And they're firing powerful blasts of magic at me!

I try getting out of the way, but they're faster than the crows, and too many for me to take on. Not to mention, they aren't getting close enough for me to hit them, and they keep firing like they have infinite ammo! It doesn't even seem like they need to recharge!

I'll need to have a serious talk to Croix if I survive! I wasn't anywhere near prepared enough for this!

Just then, I'm not fast enough while evading one of the blasts being fired at me, and I end up taking a direct hit to my shoulder. The force of the impact combined with the burning pain quickly spreading through the zone, unsurprisingly makes me let go of the ledge I was holding on to, though I manage to keep my grip with my other hand… for all of two seconds, because the other brooms take this moment of weakness to attack me, effectively blasting me off the tower.

I take several hits to my other arm, my face and chest, and soon I'm falling towards the ground. Everything hurts. My body is on fire. And I can barely keep my eyes open. Has the spell wore off? I try grabbing into something to stop my fall, but it's like my fingers are made of butter. All I can see above me is the blue sky and the brooms following me even as I fall. And then… nothing.

* * *

I wake up to someone calling my name, but I wished I had stayed asleep! Everything hurts and I'm trembling, from pain or exhaustion? Probably both. I don't feel like I could lift a finger if I tried, but I doubt the pain would let me do it anyway.

"Chariot, answer me! Can you talk?" I hear Croix's panicked voice. Wait… Croix? Oh! That's right. I was so disoriented I didn't recognize her at first, but she's here, looking down at me with a worried expression.

"C-Croix." I manage to rasp out just one word. My throat is too dry.

"Okay, good. How do you feel?" She keeps asking apprehensively.

"I'm… sore." I know that's the underestimation of the century, but I don't have the energy to say I'm extremely tired and with crippling pain that feels more like thousands of fire red needles are imbedded in every inch of my body.

"I'm sorry." She says, wearing a truly regretful expression. "I know it was too much for you, but that's how the training goes. Honestly, I didn't expect you to make it halfway to the top on your first time." She gives me a tiny smile, and I try to mirror it. But I would have felt better if I had actually made it to the top.

"Did you save me?" I ask.

"I had implemented a spell beforehand to cushion your fall when it inevitably happened." She nods. "And I cured your wounds… as much as I could anyways. Like I said, I'm not an expert on healing magic."

"I see." I smile. Croix, always so thoughtful. Honestly, if it was the other way around, I probably wouldn't have even thought to implement safety measures beforehand. "Thank you." I say, moving my hand, despite the pain, to grab Croix's. She seems surprised at first, but then goes to grip me tightly as well.

"I'm truly sorry, Chariot. I wished the training wasn't so hard."

"Yeah… but I guess to achieve something I really do have to give it my all, huh?" I chuckle, remembering the meaning of the second word. I feel like I have to honor it, now that I've unlocked it, otherwise I'd feel unworthy of the rod. But yeah, I too wish the training wasn't so hard.

"You did well." Croix says, raising a hand like she wants to touch my face, but hesitates for a moment, until I give her a nod and an encouraging smile, and she finally places her hand on my cheek as she keeps staring at me intently. Still with worry, but also… something else. Something more tender that I can't really decipher.

"Do you think next time I could do it? Get to the top?" I find myself asking.

"Honestly? No." I pout at her mean answer, but she just chuckles. "You still need more training, but I have no doubt one day you'll manage."

"If I do, will you give me a prize?" I joke.

"Make it to the top first, and then we'll talk." She answers, rolling her eyes. "But for now, I think we should _really_ get you to your room. You need rest and you thankfully have the whole weekend to do just that."

"How will we explain this to Amelia and Karen?" I ask, pointing to my clothes, full of cuts and blood stains.

"Uh… okay, maybe we should get you cleaned up and with new clothes, and _then_ go to your room. We don't want them to have a heart attack."

* * *

"… Yeah, I still think today's training was too harsh." Akko complained, pouting at her teacher, who had even told her a whole story trying to get her on a good mood again while she kept trying to heal her wounds… which was proving to be quite a task since apparently Akko had one broken leg. And Ursula had no idea how to cure that.

"B-but… there weren't crazy mechanical crows, or brooms with guns." The teacher argued, not wanting to feel even _worse_ about the incident then she already was.

"Yeah, but… moving trees? Seriously? How was I supposed to deal with that?!" The girl kept complaining, having to bite down a scream when her teacher applied some potion on a particularly nasty scratch she had on her forearm.

"I'm sorry, Akko." She answered, truly regretful. "I thought after yesterday session you'd be able to handle this a little better."

"I almost _died_ yesterday!" She retorted, remembering those stupid rock golems that kept chasing her around. And sure, they were small, slow and clumsy, but against ten of them? She'd barely escaped alive! Those things hit _hard_.

"You managed to smash three of them." Ursula gently reminded her. "And you barely had more than a few bruises at the end."

"Yeah, whatever." She pouted grumpily. "At least the training is paying off. Yesterday I almost beat Amanda in arm wrestling."

"Oh?" Ursula paused her cleaning of the girl's wounds and looked at her with a surprised expression. "That's good news, Akko!" After all, Amanda might not be the strongest by any stretch, but she was still quite strong when compared to most girls.

"Well… almost might be too strong of a word." She then admitted sheepishly. "She… okay, she still destroyed me. But I lasted five more seconds than last time!"

"Ah, I see." She laughed. Yeah, that sounded more accurate. "Still, progress is progress, and I'm sure you'll be beating her in no time."

"Of course! I'll be as strong as my sensei!" Akko exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air… only to wince a second later when she felt her muscles hurting. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Take it easy, Akko!" But Ursula didn't have time to panic too much because just then someone knocked at the door, making her deviate her attention from the Japanese student. "Oh… I see the expert has arrived." She smiled mysteriously.

"Expert?" Akko asked, but instead of answering Ursula got up and went to open the door, revealing on the other side… Diana? What was she doing here?

"Good morning, Professor." Diana greeted her, as formal and proper as ever.

"Ah, Diana." She smiled. "Thanks for coming. Please come in."

Once Ursula stepped aside and let the young prodigy enter. The girl's eyes immediately landed on Akko… and all the wounds that were on her body.

"Akko!" She exclaimed, rushing to get to her friend's side. "What happened?" She asked as she took one of her arms and started examining it, her eyes staying on her bruises and scratches a bit longer than necessary.

"Uh… hi." Akko laughed awkwardly. Seriously, sometimes Diana got more apprehensive whenever she got hurt than her sensei herself. "Don't worry, it looks worse than it is." She tried to reassure her, only to receive a killer glare that made her swallow loudly.

"I'll be the one to decide that." She pretty much snarled. "Now I ask again: what happened?"

"I… got in fight with a tree?" Akko ended up saying, though it sounded more like a question. "And it won."

"Akko!" Diana chastised her. Now, she still wasn't sure how one could fight with a tree, but if someone was to be the first to do it, it certainly seemed fitting to be Akko.

"Oh, don't worry Diana." Ursula finally interfered. "I already cured most of her wounds, but her broken leg is giving me trouble, and I was hoping you could help me with that."

"Of course." The Cavendish heir easily replied. "But I will need some ingredients. Repairing broken bones requires a rather advanced potion."

"I see. Why don't you give me a list and I go get them while you keep an eye on Akko?" Okay, so maybe she was kinda playing matchmaker. But so what? It was true that Akko needed the help. And she wasn't about to leave the reckless girl alone with a broken leg.

"Yes. That would be perfect. Thank you, professor." The Cavendish girl answered before getting up and going to write a surprisingly long list of ingredients. Ugh. She'd have to ask Lukić for most of them and… yeah. She had never been on the best of terms with the old hag. The things she did for her students!

And so, without wasting a second longer, the teacher got out running from the Astronomy tower, leaving the two teenagers alone.

A few moments of awkward silence passed with Akko just sitting there and Diana staring at the door, but then the blonde girl finally turned around and gave Akko a stern look that instantly made her know she was in trouble.

"Will you _please_ tell me exactly what happened? I know you're reckless but I doubt you'd manage to get that hurt just from hitting a tree." She said coldly.

"I wasn't being reckless, okay?!" Akko defended herself, puffing out her cheeks. "I-… I was just…" She mumbled the last part, purposely being too quiet for Diana to actually hear her.

"What was that?" She asked again, clearly unamused, as she placed her hands on her hips in an intimidating posture.

"Nothing!" She ended up saying. Yeah, she wasn't telling _Diana_ of all people that she was practicing a forbidden form of magic. "Why does it matter anyways? You'll just give me a potion and I'll be as good as new."

"Because this isn't the first time, is it?" She pretty much spat, positively radiating anger. "Don't think I haven't noticed the scratches, the bruises, the… the little limp you sometimes have." She paused, looking to the side with a sad expression. "I just… I'm afraid something will happen and I'll lose you, like…" She left that phrase hanging, unwilling to finish. Unshed tears shone in her eyes and the sight made Akko's heart clench painfully once she realized the implication.

Diana… she didn't want to lose her like she'd lost her mother. Why hadn't she seen it sooner? She thought she was just being a worrywart, overly cautious and dramatic, but… yeah. Now she could see clearly.

"I'm sorry." Akko said with a small voice. But in response, Diana simply took a deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating like she wanted to literally will her own tears away. Finally, after a few seconds, she opened her eyes again and have Akko a sad look.

"I… I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just…"

"Yeah, I know." She cut her off. "Don't worry, it's fine."

"I just want to help, I promise. I'd feel better knowing what you've got yourself into this time, so that I can assist you if you need me."

Akko bit her lip. She didn't want to lie, but then again, she didn't want to tell the truth either. Would Diana stop her from practicing strengthening magic? Yeah, probably. But she didn't want to keep hurting her, and honestly? Diana's friendship was more important to her than becoming as strong as Chariot, so…

"Okay, sit down." She sighed, patting the spot next to her on the couch. "I'm afraid I'll have to tell you _everything_."

"Everything?" She asked confused, but still obeyed and took a seat next to Akko.

"Yep. Everything about strengthening magic and how freaking awesome Chariot is!"

"Strengthening magic?!" She shrieked. "Akko, don't tell me you're…?"

"Yep! And by the end of my story I bet you'll want to learn it yourself!"

"I doubt it, but please go on." She answered, her face appearing even paler than usual. "I should have asked the Professor to get me a calming herb as well. Something tells me I'll need it after this."

But Akko only giggled in response and started telling her everything about how Chariot had learned strengthening magic, as well as her own reasons to learn it herself and how the training had gone so far.

And yes, by the end of if, Diana was almost having a panic attack.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the late update. I have been having writer's block lately, so the chapters might start coming a bit slow :P. On the bright side, however, next arc is gonna be BIG and AWESOME, if I do say so myself XD. Anyways, thanks for reading and see you soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	30. A noodle birthday

**Chapter 29: A Noodle birthday.**

Akko was distracted. Which, really, shouldn't be a surprise for anyone; the girl did tend to get distracted by the silliest, most insignificant things. Especially when she was trying to study, and _especially_ when the object of her study was a theoretical subject, like Magical History. So, really, the fact that she was distracted shouldn't have been a cause for her professor to worry at all. And normally it wasn't; normally, Ursula would just gently remind her to pay attention before continuing with her tutoring, but… this time she felt it was something different than usual that was distracting her student. Something… deeper. More personal.

"Akko?"

"Uhm?" The student answered absentmindedly.

"Are you paying attention to what I was saying?" She inquired, despite already knowing the answer.

"Of course."

"Care to repeat it, then?"

"Oh! Uh… it was something about… the… restrictions against magic?" As expected, she finished her answer as if it was a question.

"Imposed by who? And when?"

"Well… you see, I don't… I don't really… uh…" She stammered.

"You weren't paying attention." The professor finished her student's sentence for her, and although her tone was slightly disapproving, it was also gentle.

"Well.. I…"

"Something's on your mind, isn't it?"

"I…" She trailed off, pursing her lips and looking to the side before sighing. "Yeah."

"Care to share? It must be important if it's keeping you distracted for so long." Of course, Ursula couldn't help worrying; knowing Akko, it could be anything, from Lotte losing her glasses to a world-threatening catastrophe.

"It's… silly." The girl tried to get the attention away from her little problem. "You shouldn't worry about it."

"You know you can tell me anything, right Akko? I'll always do my best to help you." She said, trying to be supportive, but not too pushy.

"It's just… Diana." She finally revealed with a sigh.

"Oh? Miss Cavendish?" The professor almost let herself hope that the stubborn girl had finally realized her feelings for the blonde. Almost. Then she remembered it was _Akko_ she was dealing with.

"Yeah…" She pursed her lips. "Her birthday is this Saturday, and she's going back to her mansion for a fancy party with important people and expensive cakes, and stuff… and she didn't invite me."

"Oh." Yeah, she'd heard about something like that, now that she remembered. No doubt Akko seemed to be upset! "And… did you _want_ to go?"

"Not really." She admitted with a crestfallen expression. "I bet it's gonna be boring, but… But she's also opposed to having an outing with just us, her _friends_! I don't get it."

"I see." She hummed, thinking. "Well, not everyone likes birthdays. But if you still want to celebrate Diana, maybe a present will be more than enough, as well as your company."

"But… she already has _everything_! What can I possibly give her? I don't have any idea at all!" She complained.

"Well… maybe just invite her out to spend some time together? Just the two of you. It could be fun." The professor couldn't keep herself from suggesting it. After all, it didn't _have_ to be a romantic date, but with luck it could maybe help them figure out their feelings. Even though it hadn't worked for her and Croix.

"Hmf… isn't that a bit weird? I'm sure she'd prefer if all our friends came too." She objected.

"Please correct me if I'm wrong, but Diana doesn't exactly appear to be a social butterfly." She retorted, with a little smirk.

"Well… I guess so, but.. where would I even take her? What would we do? What would we talk about?"

"I guess that's for you to figure out, but… if you want, I could tell you about the little outing Croix and I had on her birthday. Maybe it'll give you ideas."

"Sure! I'd love to hear one of your stories right now!" She answered with a bright smile, as always, already getting comfortable in her chair.

"Alright… it all started on an Autumn morning. A Sunday, to be exact. It was Croix's 18th birthday."

* * *

Today is a big day for Croix! And for me. But mostly Croix. And she doesn't even know it! Why? Because it's October 13th! Croix's birthday! And you bet I'm giving her a proper celebration, whether she wants to or not.

Thankfully it's Sunday, meaning I can drag her into town under the pretense of having to buy something at the Last Wednesday Society, and she accepts to come with me after a few minutes of begging, pouting and giving her my best puppy dog eyes.

So here we are now! In Blytonbury! First part of my plan complete! Now… ah, yes! I need to quickly buy something not too expensive here. Uh… right! A… a frog's eye? Guess it can't be _that_ expensive, right?

"That'll be ten euros." The shopkeeper says.

"What?!" I shriek. "But it's just an eye! It's not even that big!"

"Why do you even want a frog's eye? The school has tons." Croix deadpans.

"It's not just any frog's eye." The shopkeeper speaks. "It's a rare variety brought from the ancient desert of-."

"How are there even frogs on the desert? There's no water!" I cut him off, raising an eyebrow skeptical, but he seems to ignore my question.

"The guy who provides me with rare ingredients and artifacts from the ruins on the desert actually promised to bring me something very special and valuable, but… apparently it got lost in the way somehow. So I have to make up for it, some way or another." He looks at the jar with a single frog's eye floating inside, and then pointedly at me. "Ten euros, take it or leave it."

"Hmf." I pout. "I'll have to pass, thanks." I say, leaving the jar on the counter. As much as I don't want to blow up my excuse, I will need all the money I have if I want to give Croix a proper birthday, right?

"Didn't you need that for one of your classes, or something?" Croix interrupts her careful examining of some old artifacts to address me.

"Yeah, but… it'll be fine." I say, already taking her hand and dragging her out of the small shop.

"Are you sure?" She asks, looking back at the counter. "I could always let you borrow some money if that's what's holding you back."

"I promise, it's fine." I roll my eyes at her worrying attitude, as cute as it is. "Besides, that's not the real reason I wanted to come here."

"Ugh. I figured." She says, resigned. "But I was hoping I was wrong." She then pauses, eyeing at the shiny rod replacing my wand's spot on my belt. "Are you going to make a spectacle or something?"

"Nope. Not today. Unless _you_ ask me too." I smile at her. "Today it's all about you, my eighteen year old friend."

"Ah… I see." She sighs, looking to the side with a somewhat dejected expression. "But it's not even my actual birthday!"

"But we're going to celebrate it nonetheless!" I answer enthusiastically, hoping to cheer her up. "And you know why?" I look at her, but she just keeps staring at me in confusion. "Because I'm grateful you exist, I'm grateful for having in my life and… I don't know, I think there should be a day to celebrate that such an amazing person as you came to this world."

"I-I…" She stutters, getting more flustered by the second. "You can't just say stuff like that!"

"I can and I will." I answer cheekily. "We're gonna celebrate your birthday and you're gonna like it. End of discussion."

"B-but…"

"Shush. No buts." I cut her off. "Come on, let's go to the market first. I want to buy you a gift and I know those guys have lots of cool things."

* * *

And so, we arrive to the town market, always so lively, loud and full of people; some staring lazily at the products, some strolling around, some arguing with the vendors about the prices, and some walking hurriedly, trying to get away from the mass of people blocking the street. It really is a nice place, this one. We don't have anything like it where I live, and I certainly find it very pleasing and even relaxing. More so now that I'm coming to town almost weekly to perform my spectacles, which attract more and more attention each passing day.

"So… what did you get assigned for Samhain?" Croix asks in an attempt to make small talk, while I keep staring at a stand selling antiques. They are mostly old and rusty, but I bet they looked pretty once upon a time.

"Metamorphosis magic." I shrug. "You?"

"Huh. That's a big one. We got scenery design."

"Really?" I look at her, skeptical. I would have thought she'd get something more… important.

"I won't complain." She shrugs. "It's easy and quick, meaning I'll get more time to work on my thesis."

"Oh, right." I had forgotten that was a thing. But… isn't it due for the end of the school year? That's still many, _many_ months away! "You're writing it already?"

"Of course! Why do you think I've been reading so many books lately?" She answers, rolling her eyes.

"You're _always_ reading books, you nerd!" I laugh.

"No, I'm-"

"Hey, look!" I cut her off as something catches my eye. It's a stand full of big, red fruits, unlike anything I've ever seen before. At least, I think they're fruits. They have scale-like structures of an intense pink color with bright yellow on the tips. Their texture is… rubbish. And they're bigger even than my two hands combined! Whoa! They look so cool!

"Chariot, what the hell? Don't just run off like that!"

"Croix, look!" I exclaim, pretty much shoving one of those fruits on my friend's face. "It's so pretty!"

"Uh…" She carefully pushes it away a bit and adjusts her glasses, trying to get a better look. "What even is this thing?"

"A fine delicacy delivered fresh from the American continent." The vendor interferes, smiling at us, obviously pleased by my enthusiasm. "It's a delicious fruit produced by a cactus, commonly known as dragon fruit."

"Ohhhh." I exclaim, staring at it. The shape and colors do certainly resemble a dragon egg, although the size… well the one I'm currently holding is certainly heavy enough to be a dragon egg, but the actual size doesn't really correspond to the weight.

"Are you planning on buying that?" Croix raises an eyebrow.

"Uhmm… yeah! I'll give it to you. As a birthday present!" I resolve, smiling proudly at my awesome idea.

"But I don't even eat fruits!"

"Yeah, and I need to correct those horrible eating habits of you." I tease. "Plus, don't worry! If you find something else you like, I'll buy it to you too!"

"Uh… I appreciate it, but…"

"Then it's settled!" I cut her off before turning to address the vendor once more. "Now… how much is this thing?"

* * *

The fruit was expensive, not gonna lie. Especially because it weighed a ton (well, not literally, but still). Probably what five or seven normal fruits weighed. But hey! It was worth it. I'm sure it'll be enough for us to eat for at least two days!

After that, Croix seemed to take interest in a Rubik's cube, the nerd. Except it was all of a silver color and the pieces had different shapes of something? I really don't know much about that stuff, but she seemed to really like it and I bought it despite her protests.

After walking a bit more around town, with me practically clinging to her arm, much to her annoyance (not really; she likes it so much she blushes, but she'll never admit it), we finally got hungry and decided to eat. Now, normally I don't like endorsing Croix's unhealthy obsession with Ramen, but… hey, this is her birthday so it should be all about her, right? So of course I spent the last few weeks searching around for the best place to eat ramen in this town, and found this one called "The Ramen house". Simple name, simple local, small, run by a Japanese-looking guy, cozy and rustic. I really think my reclusive friend will like it.

"Ta-da!" I say, extending my arms to the side as I show her the place. "We're here."

"A ramen restaurant?" She says, raising an eyebrow. "I appreciate the thought, but I'm really more of a fan of _instant_ ramen."

"You're not going to eat instant ramen on your _birthday_!" I retort, giving her my most menacing glare.

"Why not? I like it!" She glares right back.

"Because I won't let you!" I simply answer, taking her hand as I start dragging her inside. "Come on! You'll like this ramen too, I promise."

Thankfully she doesn't protest any more as we enter and I choose a secluded booth at the back of the restaurant, before we take our seats on opposite ends of the table. Then a waiter comes with our menu and we start scanning the thing, trying to decide what to eat.

Honestly, I've been here before and, let's just say, the spicy ramen is… _HOT_. Like, sure, I think Croix can take it… _maybe_ , but I think for me I'll order just the regular ramen with pork meat. I don't want to die… Again.

After making our orders (and yes, that idiot ordered freaking spicy ramen despite my warnings), we just wait for our food to arrive. But hopefully it won't be long. I'm starving!

"So… how do you know about this place?" Croix asks as soon as the waiter goes away. "I didn't think you were a fan of Japanese food… or anything non-French, really."

"I'm not." I answer honestly. "French food is the absolute best food in the entire world and everyone freaking knows that." At this, Croix only smirks.

"I mean, I do like French fries." She teases, which would normally earn her a punch on the shoulder, but… today I feel generous, so she gets an eye roll instead.

"You are a dummy with the absolute worst taste _ever_ , at least when it comes to food." I retort. "But… you're _my_ dummy, so I'll forgive you."

"Wow, thanks. How kind of you." She replies sarcastically. "But you still haven't answered my question: how do you know about this place?"

"I know every single ramen restaurant in this town." I announce proudly. "I ate in every single one of them in preparation for this day, and determined this one was the best."

"Uh… what?" She says dumbly, staring at me with wide eyes.

"Yeah, you heard me right!" I exclaim. "I wanted everything to be perfect! After all, you're my favorite person in the entire world. I love you more than anyone or anything, so… of course I wanted to make your birthday as perfect as possible."

"I-I… Chariot!" She protests, blushing brightly and covering her face with her hands in an attempt to hide her adorable little blush… but even her ears are red now.

"Heh. You look adorable when you blush." I tease.

"Please stop." Is her muffled response.

"Why would I?" I continue teasing with a mischievous smile. "I love making you flustered."

At this, she finally uncovers her red face, only to glare at me with the least menacing expression I've ever seen on my friend's face.

"Cherry… please." She says, but I only giggle in response.

"Sure, I'll stop now, my cute little Croixssant."

"Oh, for fucks sake!" She exclaims, sitting a little bit straighter as she looks around, almost as if she's searching for an escape route.

"Heh." I chuckle at the sight, but still some doubts enter my mind. "Uh… you're not _actually_ upset… are you? Because I'll stop if I'm really bothering you."

"Uh…" She sighs and takes a deep breath, closing her eyes as she practically wills her blush to recede, thankfully succeeding just partially. Then, she finally looks at me again and speaks. "I'm not upset, just… uh… I don't understand why you're doing all of this for me." She swallows, looking away as she says her next words. "What I mean is… we're _just_ friends."

"No, we're not!" I protest. "We're _best_ friends!"

"Right." She almost spits that word. "But even for best friends… I think this is a little too much."

"What do you mean?" I ask, tilting my head to the side, confused.

"What I mean is…" She stops, taking a deep breath and clenching her fists, which I notice are trembling slightly. "Uhm… it's just… this really, _really_ resembles a… uh…a… a d-" She blushes and purses her lips, unable to continue.

"A what?" I prompt, smiling confusedly. What is she trying to tell me?

"A-a… I don't know!" She finally exclaims, looking to the side and crossing her arms over her chest. "Forget it." Her face glows even redder now. "Forget I said anything."

"But…" I trail off as the waiter comes over, bringing our food. My friend seems to exhale in relief at the interruption, as the waiter's presence allows her to relax slightly, and her blush to recede a little, though some pink still remains on her cheeks.

For her sake though, I decide to drop the subject even after the waiter leaves. It looks like it was really affecting her and I wouldn't want her to feel uncomfortable on her big day.

But now… time to eat! Yay! Wait… I forgot to ask for a spoon. How am I supposed to eat with chop sticks?

I look up to see Croix, and see she's already grabbed those damn sticks with absolute expertise and is eating her ramen like grabbing slippery noodles with those things was easy! But I'm not her, so as soon as the waiter comes nearby again, I quickly ask him to get me a spoon.

"Seriously, Chariot?" Croix exclaims angrily, her mouth still full of ramen. "You gonna eat freaking ramen with a _spoon_?"

"Uh…"

"Disgraceful. Absolutely disgraceful." She shakes her head disapprovingly. "I'm not letting you do that, not in front of me."

"But…" Before I can actually protest, she comes to sit next to me and grabs the sticks, showing me how to use them.

"Look, you just grab this one like this, and the other… kinda like how you grab a pen. Then you just move them like this and… look! It's easy!"

Well… it does look easy when she does it, but I've already tried multiple times and I still can't figure out how to do it without the food falling off before arriving to my mouth.

"Croix, I don't think-"

She cuts off my protests by grabbing my hand and placing the sticks on it, positioning my fingers as she mentioned just moments before and then making me open and close the sticks.

"See? You can do it." She smiles.

"Right." I say, eyeing the bowl of ramen skeptically. How am I supposed to eat a liquid thing with just a couple of sticks and that weird-shaped spoon?

"Come on, grab some noodles." She looks to the bowl of ramen in front of me and smiles reassuringly. "I promise it'll work."

She's not going to just drop the subject, is she?

"Fine." I sigh and dip the sticks into the bowl, trying to grab the ramen, only to come out with just a couple of noodles that I promptly bring to my mouth… only for one of them to fall back into the bowl at the last second. So, I end up with just a noodle in my mouth. Ugh… eating like this will take literally _ages_.

"You'll get the hang of it." Croix says before going back to her seat, and to eating her own ramen. I just pout at her, but continue eating this thing… noddle by noodle. Oh! Also, turns out the weird spoon is for drinking the broth! But… it's not exactly useful for grabbing the noodles. Ugh. Why does eating have to be so complicated?

Anyways, so… while we're eating we talk a bit, mostly about school and the exams, things like that. Thankfully they weren't so hard… kinda. And by that I mean that they could've gone worse. But that's a win for me, honestly. Plus, it provides a way for me to distract me from the absolute pain that it is to eat with chopsticks. Like, why do Asians have to be so complicated? Granted, we have like three different types of spoons, and such, but at least they're easy to use!

Seriously, if I could get a wish right now, I'd wish for a spoon.

"Hey, Cherry, you done yet?" Croix asks, eying my still half-full bowl of ramen, while hers… hers is empty already. Ugh. Stupid sticks.

"Not really." I groan. "This is too much for one person! Especially when using chopsticks!"

"Pfft. Amateurs." Croix rolls her eyes before getting up and coming to seat next to me once again. "I'm gonna have a taste if you don't mind." She says, bringing her sticks to my bowl.

"No, please, by all means!" I say, shoving the bowl towards her. "Help me eat that thing or else we'll be here all day!"

"Okay." She agrees, her mouth already full of ramen. Ugh. How can she grab so many noodles with just the sticks! I call sorcery! "Wow, this is good! But not as good as spicy ramen, I'll tell you that."

"What's with your obsession with spicy ramen?" I complain, as I go to take some more noodles with my sticks. Or… show I say, _noodle_. Singular. Great.

"It's good, and I love it more than anything." She simply answers.

"Hmf. Is it normal to be jealous of ramen?" I joke.

"I mean, I would eat you if you asked." She laughs, but then freezes, her eyes widening as if she just realized what she said.

"Uh… but that would be cannibalism, right?" I chuckle.

"R-right." She stutters, blushing adorably. "Which is why you should forget about what I just said."

I laugh at my friend's embarrassed expression before going to grab some more noodles, and she does the same, looking at everywhere but me. Gosh, why is she so embarrassed about a little joke she said? I don't get it! And... I also don't get why these noodles are so long! Do they really expect people to eat them whole? Because Croix sure does. Is that the proper way? Should I try that? I'm gonna try that. Just for fun.

And so I do, but… uh… it seems like this thing is stuck somewhere, probably tangled with the other noodles, so I suck harder until I-

Oh, wow, Croix's face is too close! Why is my heart beating so hard all of he sudden? And why is she even that close? Ohhh… it looks like we both grabbed the same noodle! Her eyes are widening. Her cheeks are red. Mine too, probably! Oh, gosh, what should I do?! This would be easier if my body wasn't frozen all of the sudden!

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, but is probably just a couple of seconds, Croix breaks the noodle and turns around, her blush reaching even her ears and neck. I just look down at the bowl of ramen while I swallow the rest of the noodle, feeling suddenly like I'm about to spontaneously combust.

What was that about? Why does my heart want to burst out of my chest? It's… a pleasant sensation, not gonna lie, but also… scary, somehow.

I really don't know what should I do now, what to say, if I should even say anything… maybe I should just finish my ramen, talk about something else, I don't know… probably just forget about this whole thing for now, until I figure out what it means. Until then… Croix's perfect birthday shall continue.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey... I'm sorry it's been so long. I've just ben busy with life, struggling with personal issues and having writer's block, which as you can imagine isn't exactly a good combination lol. I hope you liked this nontheless, and please leave a review/favorite/follow if you did. Thanks!**

 **See you soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	31. Dragon fruit

**Chapter 30: Dragon fruit.**

So, after Croix and I finished eating our Ramen (or rather, after _Croix_ ate our ramen), we decided to go to the cinema, to conclude this wonderful evening. Of course, I let Croix pick the movie, despite her protests, and the nerd unsurprisingly chose a sci-fi thing about space knights or something? I didn't understand almost anything, since it was the third one, but it was fun. There were tons of sword fights and gun fights, and… it was just so awesome!

"So… Did you like it? I noticed you didn't fall asleep." Croix commented.

"Yeah, it was good! Maybe I'll watch the others when I'm on vacations." I answer, giving her my brightest smile.

"What did you like the most?"

"The swords!"

"Do you mean Lightsabers?" She smirks.

"Those! So cool! Do you think they can be made with magic?" I ask, already imagining me wielding such a badass weapon, slaying monsters and such.

"Heh. You know magic can't do everything, right?" She chuckles "Maybe it would be possible, but you'd need to have an extremely high control over magic density, temperature and form, to be able to make a concentrated ray of magical energy that is able to cut through objects. Only an expert witch would be able to do it after years and years of practice."

"Well, I'mma do it!" I proudly announce, determined. "And then you'll have to admit that I'm a very capable witch!"

"You don't need to do that in order for me to recognize your talents." She pauses, smirking at me. "You just need to pass all your classes." She then adds, booping my nose.

"Hey! Last semester I did pass all my classes!" I protest. "Sure, I didn't get straight A's, like some nerds, but a C+ is pretty descent."

"Right." She rolls her eyes. "My mom would kill me if I got even _one_ B."

"Well, I'm sorry but your mom sounds like a pretty terrible person."

At my words, she shrugs like it doesn't matter, but in the way she slightly purses her lips before trying to remain neutral, I can see my comment may have hit a sensitive nerve.

"She's… alright. I've had worse." She says hesitantly after a pause.

"Still. You're freaking Croix Meridies! You deserve better than that. You, my friend, deserve the best of the best, and I'm determined to give you just that because I love you so much. Got it?"

Croix chuckles and smiles at me tenderly, before ruffling my hair with her hand affectionately.

"You're a really good friend, Chariot, you know that? I'm pretty lucky to have you."

"It wasn't luck; it's because you're such an amazing person as well. We're pretty much made for each other." I chuckle, clearly joking, because come on, Croix is far too good for me! We can't even compare!

"Heh. Yeah…" She trails off, looking to the side shyly. "You know, Chariot… I know I don't say this enough, but… I really, _really_ love you."

"I love you too." I answer, hugging her close and feeling as warmth rushes to my cheeks and my heart does a little happy dance, like it always happens when Croix says nice things to me. "And… I hope I was able to give you a happy birthday."

"Chariot… this has been the best birthday I've ever had." She answers, pulling me closer. "Today was almost perfect."

"Almost?" I pull away and look her in the eye, frowning. "But I want it to be perfect! What else do you want? You can ask me anything and I'll do it."

"Well…" She trails off, blushing. "I can think of at least one thing."

"And that is?" I prompt when she doesn't continue.

"Uhh…" She looks right into my eyes. "Well… I would really, really like to k-"

"Hey, look! It's Chariot!" Someone suddenly shouts, from somewhere to my right, and I turn to see a kid with his friends. He's one of my biggest fans, to be honest, and I also recognize some of the other kids.

"Shiny Chariot? The witch?" One of his friends asks.

" _Shiny_ Chariot?" Croix chuckles, raising an eyebrow.

"I-I… uh…" I blush for some reason. "It's… the rod is shiny and my spectacles are flashy and… it… kinda... stuck?" I try to explain before the kids reach us.

"Chariot, are you gonna make a spectacle now? Please say yes! My friends want to see you!" My little fan says enthusiastically.

"Uh… I'm sorry, Collin." That was his name, right? "I didn't plan to do it today." I smile apologetically.

"B-but… you always do so on Sundays!" He protests, pouting.

"Yeah, but… this Sunday is special, alright? Please. Maybe next week." I try to reason. But of course he keeps protesting and his friends promptly join. Ugh. Being famous is a pain sometimes. I really don't want to disappoint them, but I know Croix doesn't like it when I 'use sacred magic for silly purposes', and I obviously don't want to annoy her on her birthday. Especially when it was going so well!

She must notice my dilemma, however, because she promptly places a hand on my shoulder and smiles at me.

"It's okay. I actually am curious as to what has made you so popular among common people."

"I… really?" I ask shyly.

"Sure, why not? Show me what you can do."

I honestly had no idea what to say or do. I was ecstatic! I could finally show Croix my magic; what I loved, what I was good at. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time, to be honest, because… what if she didn't like it? I'd feel devastated for sure, but..

No. I shake my head and put on a determined look. I wouldn't let that happen. I'd make this one the best magic spectacle Croix has ever seen!

And so, I pull out my Shiny Rod with all the confidence I can muster and turn towards my little public. Croix, thankfully, promptly went to join them.

"Ahem." I started my usual routine. "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the land of magic! Prepare yourself to be amazed by things you've never seen before!" At this, I moved the rod in a wide arch over my head, letting it drop a few sparkles of magic. The kids immediately applauded and let out awed gasps. Croix, however, just crossed her arms over her chest and gave me a smug look, as if challenging me to actually surprise her.

"The spells I conjure are such you could never even imagine." I continue saying a little dramatically. "For example… I can disappear!" Quickly, I mutter the teleportation spell under my breath and instantly disappear in a cloud of smoke only to reappear on the balcony of a nearby building. This makes even more kids and even adults join the little crowd forming around me. And I'm just starting.

"I can also walk on thin air!" I add before saying the flying spell and stepping out of the balcony. We did this in flying class the other time. It was a modification of the normal flight spell, in which you simply apply the magic to your own feet instead of a broom. It was still quite difficult though, and required a lot of concentration, even if I had practiced a couple of times before. Still, the awed exclamations and applauses were more than worth it.

I walked on middle air a bit more and even twirled around just for show, but just when I felt my concentration was slipping, I decided to try another spell.

" _Metamorphie_ _fasciesse_!" I say as I do a pirouette, landing just as I transform into a tiger, which is quite useful since I now have four paws and a better equilibrium. My public applauds and I see they're all wearing happy and awed faces… although some of them are fearful of cautious I'll admit. Quickly, I start running around and greeting the kids playfully, acting more like a puppy than an actual tiger, but they don't really seem to mind at all. Croix, on the other hand, is smiling but doesn't seem to really be that much into the show, so, without warning, I jump towards her as if attacking. Immediately everyone around her screams and backs away, while she just flinches and tries to cover her face. However, I manage to transform midair and land in her arms in the form of a little kitty.

"Uh…" She looks at me, astonished, but I just wink at her before getting out of her hands and circling her neck slowly, stopping next to her left cheek. There, I smirk and lick her, making her blush very brightly.

I giggle at her cute reaction and jump into the ground again, this time transforming into a bird and starting to fly around the kids, letting sparks fall for them to catch. Then I proceed to transform into other animals; from a wolf to a giraffe and even a hedgehog! The kids love it and I'm about to close my act when I decide to get Croix involved as well. So I quickly grab her hand and pull her to the middle of the circle before she can protest. Then, with a single movement of my rod, I turn our boring school clothes into actual witches clothes; hat and all. The color is all white for me and black for my friend, and the dresses are all long and flowy with flowers and leaves to adorn them.

Then, I finish off by pointing my rod to the sky and producing some fireworks, which earn me even more applauses and cheers. Except… I go a bit overboard. I wanted it to seem like the fireworks are coming from behind us and not from the tip of my rod, so I did just that, and used a fire spell instead of an illusion spell, because I wanted it to look realistic. And boy was it realistic!

I suddenly caught smell of something like smoke and start coughing along side Croix. Also… was it suddenly too hot here?

"What the hell, Chariot?!" She yelled, pulling out her wand and making the smoke disperse and the fire die. Then she glared at me.

"Sorry." I muttered sheepishly before turning to address the crowd, feigning a smile.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen!" I say, bowing to my cheering and applauding public, although I keep my trip on Croix's hand. "Thank you! If you enjoyed it, don't forget I'm usually here on weekends. Sometimes at the park too! Hope to see you soon!"

At this, the crowd starts dispersing. And immediately I turn to my friend, apologizing profusely.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what happened! I've done that spell plenty of times before and I never burn myself!"

"It's fine." She sighs. "You just have to work on your control. Fire magic is easily influenced by emotions, after all."

"You're not mad?" I ask hesitantly.

"No. Just… a little heated up." She chuckles and I relax a little.

"Heh. So… what did you think?"

"It was good." She shrugs.

"Awww, come on! _Just_ good?" I complain, pouting, and even tearing up a little. I want Croix to like my shows so badly.

"Well… it was just basic magic. Nothing I don't see in every day life." She explains. "Plus… your shows are always the same; some illusion magic then some metamorphosis and… bum! You're done." Croix continues. "I'm just saying, if you're disrespecting a sacred object in such a way, the least you could do is making shows people will never forget. Not this kid's play."

I feel my lower lip tremble and tears fight to fall from my eyes, but I don't let them. Croix just gave me some constructive criticism; she wasn't mean about it and I should take it like a grown up, but… why does it hurt so much? Why do I want her approval so badly?

"H-hey." She seems to notice that I'm about to cry and quickly comes closer, pressing her hand against my cheek. "I'm sorry… I just said what I thought. I didn't mean to offend you in any way."

"It's fine." I answer and just wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her closer. "I just… I'm just a dummy."

"But at least you're _my_ dummy, right?" She chuckles, and I smile, but before I can respond, something weird happens.

I was still holding the Shiny rod with my right hand when I hugged Croix, but… I felt it bump against something that was on Croix's pocket (the metamorphosis spell for our clothes had already worn off thanks to my lack of concentration). I thought nothing of it at first, but the more I hugged Croix, the warmer that zone became, until…

A big explosion interrupts our moment. An explosion coming from my friend's pocket.

The force sends us flying and we fall on our butts, utterly confused as to what just happened. Where we were previously standing there's now the dragonfuit, but… it's broken in pieces and there's an acre smell coming from it, along with smoke. My first thought was that maybe my previous dangerous stunt with fire magic had heated up the fruit and made it explode but then… the ashes started dispersing and I saw… a lizard?

It was small, about the size of a baby cat; pinkish red and with bright yellow spikes on its back. It also had a pair of wings…? Wait. I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure lizards don't have wings.

So… it's a…

"A dragon." Croix says, clenching her teeth and confirming my suspicions. I finally turn to her and see she's covered in sooth and her uniform has been partially destroyed due to the explosion. She also has a _very_ worried look on her face. "The dragonfruit you bought… it must have been a dragon egg."

"Oh." I say, turning back to look at the little reptile, who is laying on the ground and trying to gain control over his limbs, so he's still quite clumsy; barely able to move his tiny paws around. It's… actually pretty cute now that I think about it.

"We need to get him out of here." She says urgently as she tries to get up… but winces as it looks like she has some burns on her left side.

"H-hey." I rush towards her and help her stand up. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. You should wait here while I go get our brooms. Then I'll take you and the dragon to Luna Nova and hopefully the teachers will know what to do."

"No, you don't understand!" She scream-whispers, which I don't get why…? "Dragons are overly protective of their eggs, and even more protective of their offspring, so they're probably not far from here. If that thing starts crying, they'll come and _burn this town to the ground_."

"Oh." Yeah. That doesn't sound good. And just then I notice a small crowd has formed around us, many of them being actually my spectators from earlier. They seem a bit confused about what's happening and the children are staring at the dragon with curiosity. So I quickly decide to do something before one of those kids grabs the newborn reptile and makes him cry.

Quickly, and without thinking it twice, I run to pick up the baby dragon and hold him in my arms as I turn to address the crowd, wearing a smile despite the gross sensation of warm liquid staining my clothes. It must have come out of the egg, ew.

"H-hey!" I say enthusiastically. "Uhm… For those of you who don't know me, I make magic shows around town! T-there's nothing to see here, though. Just a spell that went w-"

I'm cut off in that moment by the most horrid and high-pitched scream I've ever heard. It hurt my ears so much that I dropped to the ground. Really, I just wanted to drop the dragon and cover my ears, but I knew I couldn't do that… even if the scream _was_ coming from this little scale-covered baby.

Yep. We're screwed.

As soon as the scream died out, I saw Croix coming and kneeling in front of me, grabbing my shoulders and screaming, although all that I could hear was ringing in my ears. Still, I could kinda read her lips.

"Chariot! We need to get out of here, come on! Get up!"

I try to do as she says, but I feel dizzy and I'm carrying a baby dragon, so I can't use my hands. Croix seems to notice, however because she takes the reptile out of my arms and offers me one hand to help me stand up. I'm still dizzy and disoriented, sure, but at least I'm now standing and Croix is guiding me… somewhere.

Thankfully, the ringing in my ears is starting to diminish, and I'm beginning to get back my sense of balance. At that's when… when we hear a loud, thunderous _roar_. Yes, not a sharp cry from the baby dragon, but an outright roar that even makes the ground tremble, the windows vibrate and resonates through every inch of my body. There's no mistaking it; this is the roar of an adult dragon.

And just a few seconds later, the dragon in question appears. Unlike the baby in Croix's arms this dragon is easily the size of a truck, and with a prominent yellow color, except for the spines on it back, which are a bright pink. Its wings are also massive… almost twice the length of its body, and it also has teeth the size of knives and claws the size of swords. It's… a terrifying sight to say the least. But also… it's kind of mesmerizing. Majestic. I instinctively know I'm facing a creature that's hundreds of years old, and that could probably kill me in just one second. Still, I know running is futile.

"She wants her baby." Croix says, clenching her teeth.

"Then we should give it to her." I say. It seems like the only thing we can do, but to my surprise, she shakes her head.

"We need to lure her out of the city first, or else she might get so mad she'll burn this town to the ground."

"Oh…"

Yeah, that might be a problem, especially since we don't have our brooms and the rest of the people are blindly running away in panic.

"Take it to the leyline." I instruct Croix. "I'll try to get everyone to calm down and maybe distract the dragon to buy you some time." She nods at this and puts on a determined face.

"Be careful, alright?"

"You too."

As my friend goes away running, I turn to see that the dragon, still flying, is simply looking around and still quite a few meters away, probably trying to locate her baby. However, there's quite a few people crying in panic, or filming what is happening and even taking pictures. But for now it seems like the dragon doesn't care about them, thankfully.

I'm about to intervene, telling people to go back to their homes or something, when suddenly a bunch of police men show up. And they're carrying guns. I immediately know what they're up to and I rush to stop them, since them shooting the dragon will do nothing except enrage her; dragons have scales harder than diamonds.

"Wait, stop!" I say as I run towards the cops, who are already taking aim at the dragon. But they promptly ignore me.

"A dragon?" One of them says, fear clear in his voice. "I thought they were extinct."

"They are." Another answers. "At least in Europe." He then loads his gun and clenches his teeth. "But whatever the reason it's here, we need to act _fast_."

"Wait!" I arrive to where they are, and they finally seem to notice me. "If you attack her, you'll only make things worse! Bullets won't hurt her."

"Get away, kid. We'll handle the situation." One of them says, disregarding what I just said.

"No, you can't! That's a freaking dragon! I'm a witch, so… just leave it to me, okay?"

In that moment, however, the dragon flies dangerously close to us, and the cops freak out, instantly starting to shoot at her. As expected, the bullets don't even leave a scratch on her scales, but she does notice she's being attacked and roars loudly in response, now coming towards us with an enraged expression. Great.

I prepare myself, trying to remember a protection spell, and hoping the shiny rod will still have enough energy to make this work. I think I've still got like two or three spells worth of energy, but… I don't believe that'll be enough if I end up having to fight a freaking dragon. Still, as the fire spits out of her mouth and towards us, I raise my rod and make a magical barrier, enclosing us all. The cops, of course, just scream and try to cover themselves, but at the end it's just because of my magic that we didn't end up as fried chicken.

"See? I told you I know what I'm doing." I smirk, hoping that I look more confident than how I actually feel. "Now, will you please put away those weapons and try to calm down the people? I'll take care of the dragon."

Without waiting for an answer, I pronounce a metamorphosis spell to make wings appear on my back. It's more difficult than normal, since I have to concentrate only on the spot where I want wings to appear, but at the end I manage and take off flying.

"Don't worry, it's just part of the show. Stay on your homes and everything should be fine!" I tell the people as I pass, and I see that, thankfully, the police men are also doing their best to calm them down. So, with that taken care of, I go towards the dragon.

"Hey! Over here!" I shout, pointing my rod towards it and letting out a blast of illusion magic, hitting her straight on the snout. This, of course, seems to enrage her and she quickly comes flying towards me. But despite her size, I'm faster and more agile, able to evade the fire she spits at me… although it does start smelling like something is burning, but thankfully it seems like the fire only charred very few of my feathers.

Soon enough, we arrive to the leyline terminal, just outside the city, and Croix is already there, waiting for us with the baby dragon, who calls for his mother as soon as he sees us. I've never been happier of being high up in the air, flying pretty far away from the ground. And that's saying something! But yeah, up here his screams don't ring that loud, even if they do make the mother furious, and she quickly rushes towards my friend.

Realizing this, Croix puts the baby on the ground and backs away a few meters, probably because she doesn't want to be dragon food. The mom then lands where her cub is, while I quickly go to my friend and land next to her, making my wings disappear and asking her if she's okay.

"What?!" She yells.

"I asked if you're okay!" I shout, realizing she probably can't hear a thing.

"Oh! I'm fine. But my ears…"

"Yeah, that little dragon is quite noisy, huh?" I chuckle, but my laughter is cut short when we hear a new roar… this time from the mom. And then I quickly push Croix to the ground just as the dragon spits fire at us, managing to shield her with my body as the intense heat passes touching my back, but thankfully my school uniform seems to resist, as I don't feel like I'm burning.

Still, I recognize the danger of the situation and quickly get up, facing the dragon in the most intimidating posture I can manage, holding the shiny rod firmly with my two hands. Then I shout at her, hoping to scare her away.

"You have your baby now! Leave us alone! We've done nothing wrong!" In response, I get another roar, but thankfully not fire.

"These dragons aren't intelligent, Chariot!" Croix says going to stand up next to me. "They're just lizards." She then adds, clenching her teeth.

"Then what do we do?" In that moment, the dragon takes a step towards us and I hold up the rod menacingly… as if it still had magic.

"We need to get her to the leyline. Hopefully then she can find her way back home." Croix answers.

The only problem is… this leyline terminal isn't like the others; those that are basically out in the open, only framed by two wooden branches. No; this one is inside a stone building that's too small for the dragon to pass. How are we even going to get her inside?

"Do you still have any magic?" Croix asks, and I shake my head. Right now, I wished I'd brought my wand besides the rod.

"Here." She gives me her wand, and I shoot her a confused look.

"Your rod can create portals into the leyline, right? Use my wand's magic; I'll distract her meanwhile."

"B-but-" Before I can actually protest, Croix's already ran off, shouting at the dragon and attracting its attention, which off course makes her furious and she starts chasing after my friend. Great. I have to do this quickly before she ends up as a piece of carbon.

I then proceed to open her wand's battery, letting the magic slip out and be collected by my rod. Now the gems are shining once more, as I concentrate on my love for magic. But… what was the first word? And… can I even use it again? After I unlocked it? Can I summon the arc to my will?

…

Wait. Calm down. I need to calm down. This isn't the time to panic; Croix's life and this whole town, to be honest, depends on me. I've got this. The shiny rod chose me for a reason, and as its wielder I'm going to use it!

I'm going to save this town. I'm going to save Croix. I can't let her die or get injured on her birthday! She needs to be alright because I want us to be friends for many years. I want to always be with her. To… I don't know. I just want to be there for her forever. And I want her to be there for me.

Finally, I feel the familiar euphoric energy pouring out of my chest and into the rod, and back, fueling the spell. And then I pronounce the words.

"Noctu Orfei… Odem Fretore!"

Instantly, the rod turns into an arc and I shot the arrow of light towards the horizon, successfully creating a leyline portal.

"Croix!" I shout.

"On it!" She answers, running towards it and being followed by an angry dragon mother and her newborn baby, who's clinging to the scales on her back. Damn, he must be pretty strong!

Wait… Concentrate! You still need to help Croix!

With the energy left on the rod, I use a strengthening spell to give new energy to my legs, managing to run faster than the dragon can fly towards the leyline and, in the last second, I'm able to intercept Croix before she can run headfirst into the portal, landing in the grass with her as the dragon passes above us and enters the leyline, disappearing from sight.

I just sigh in relief and end the spell, collapsing in top of Croix.

"That was close."

"Yeah." She hugs me. "You were very brave. And, uh… thank you for saving me. Two times."

"Hey, I wasn't gonna let you die on your birthday, right?" I chuckle, separating a little to stare right into her eyes, and she smiles at me. She then opens her mouth and is about to say something when…

"Ehem." I would recognize that voice in my most horrid nightmares, and so I get up as if struck by lighting and turn to face _her_. Finnelan. But... what is she doing here?

"P-professor." Croix stutters as she also gets up hastily.

"Miss Meridies." She nods and then turns to look at me, scrunching her nose in disapproval. "Miss du Nord."

"H-hi." I pretty much squeak, already feeling that I've done something wrong. But… I haven't… right?

"We received a report of a dragon rampaging the town and I came to investigate, but now… I only see you two with your uniforms charred and smelling like smoked meat. Care to explain?" She asks, giving me a pointed look that makes me gulp and look at Croix for support.

"Uh… Well…"

"We bought a fruit. Turns out it was a dragon egg and then it hatched and the mother wasn't so far away." Croix explains calmly, and with a kind of… _defiant_ expression. "But we were able to get them into the leyline before they could cause any harm."

"You mean _you_ got them into the leyline." She says, looking directly at Croix. "I really doubt the top student of Luna Nova would need help to solve such a trivial problem."

It looked like Croix wanted to protest, but she didn't know how, so she ended up just clenching her teeth. However, I'm not one to stay silent myself.

" _Actually_ , I-" But I'm cut off before I can clarify the situation.

"You hatched the egg thanks to your reckless use of magic outside the school." She snaps, pretty much glaring at me like she wants to kill me with her eyes alone.

"What? But I haven't-"

"A dragon needs heat and magic to hatch. _Someone_ has to have given him both." I open my mouth to protest, but close it when I realize what must have happened. "You have that rod of yours _and_ a wand. And don't believe I don't know about your unauthorized shows of magic! Such a disgrace!"

"Hey!" I yell, angry. Just who does she think she is? I just saved an entire town from a freaking dragon! And she's belittling me? Unbelievable!

"Listen, you-" Croix starts, trying to defend me, but is quickly cut off by Finnelan.

"Enough! I will see you two in the headmistress' office first thing tomorrow morning. Understood?"

"What? But I-I…" I trail off and I feel Croix's hand grabbing mine and squeezing gently, probably trying to keep me from getting myself deeper in the metaphorical mud we're already in.

"Yes, professor." She says through clenched teeth. And then, we reluctantly start following her into the leyline terminal, even though I'd like nothing more than to punch her in her face. While using strengthening magic. Yeah, I'm _that_ angry.

But… I'm not really mad at her, to be honest. Well, I am, but… I guess I'm also mad at myself. I just wanted to give Croix a perfect birthday, but I ruined it with my stupid gifts and my dumb magic shows.

Maybe I should have just bought her instant ramen and watched a movie at her lab. Then she wouldn't have been endangered, chased by a freaking dragon and possibly punished because of me. Ugh! I'm the worst friend ever!

I just hope she's not mad at me…

But… as I feel her hand, still holding mine, and see her smile reassuringly at me, I know, deep inside, that everything is going to be alright. At least between us. I really don't think Finnelan will go easy on me this time, but as long as I have Croix at my side, I know I can handle anything she throws at me!

* * *

"And? Then what? What did that harpy do? Come on, sensei! You can't just let me hanging like this!" Akko protested, pouting, but the professor just chuckled.

"I'm sorry, Akko but you'll need to be patient." She answered.

"B-but..!"

" _Akko_." She said in a slightly chastising tone. "I'm sorry, but this story is a pretty long and complicated one, and it's already quite late. You should go."

"But sensei!" She whined.

"Don't you have a date with Diana to plan?" She reminded her gently. "I'll be here whenever you want to talk, okay? But for now, you should go."

"Hmf. Fine." She pouted, but then smiled and kissed her sensei's cheek. "Goodnight, professor!"

"Goodnight, Akko!"

She smiled as she saw her student run out of the door, as happy and energetic as always. But… she couldn't help thinking about what she'd have to tell Akko the next time she saw her. A part of her was excited. It had been quite an important experience for her, after all, but… another part couldn't help feeling a little self-conscious about it. Especially knowing how much Akko idolized Chariot!

But... She had already promised, right? And, deep down, she knew it wouldn't be that bad.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I hope you like this not-so-little thing XD. And don't worry, Charoix is coming very soon. Sonner than you imagine actually, because the next ten chapters are already written, so I'll go back to updating every two weeks! Still, any reviews/favorites/follows are greatly appreciated and will help me keep writing!**

 **Thanks for reading everyone, see you in two weeks!**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	32. Surprise exams - part 1

**Chapter 31: Surprise exams – Part 1.**

Akko got into Chariot's room, like always, skipping, smiling and looking as excited as ever, despite the fact that it was Monday and they had a ton of things to review, and spells to practice.

"Sensei!" She greeted her, wearing the biggest smile the professor had ever seen. Which was saying something.

"Oh! Hello, Akko. You seem very happy. I assume your date with Diana went smoothly as expected?"

"Yep!" She answered without missing a beat as she went t sit next to her sensei. "We went to a tea saloon, and to the cinema, and we ate cake and stuff! But unfortunately we didn't do anything cool, like fighting a dragon." She pouted.

"I'd say that's a good thing." She answered, chuckling.

"Yeah, right." Akko huffed. "I just want to be as cool as you!"

"Well… I'd say you're 'cooler' than me." The professor answered honestly. "I mean, what's cooler than stopping a missile and reviving magic?"

"Yeah, yeah…" She waved her hand, dismissing the idea. "But Diana and the others helped me with that, so… you know…"

"Yet none of that would have been possible without you, Akko. Don't give yourself less credit than you deserve."

"Diana would probably say something like that too." Akko chuckled.

"That's because Diana knows a thing or two about what makes a good witch." The professor smiled, wishing she could say something more; something that would make Akko realize her obvious feelings for the Cavendish heir, but… yeah, she knew that, as a teacher, that'd be highly inappropriate. "And she's also a great friend, judging for how much she always tries to help you and be there for you."

"Yeah…" The Japanese girl sighed. "She's pretty amazing, but…" She paused, realizing something. "I didn't come here to talk about Diana! I came here to hear an awesome story from you!"

"And to study as well." She reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah. But first the story!"

"No. First we study and _then_ I'll tell you the story. Otherwise you won't be able to concentrate."

"But sensei!"

"Come on, the sooner we start, the sooner we finish." She was already opening the books as she spoke.

"Hmf. Fine." She pouted, but ultimately obliged.

* * *

I'm laughing at some lame joke Enid said as we exit the cafeteria, when suddenly I see Croix at the other end of the hallway, and quickly tell an apology to the twins before hurrying up to seek my best friend.

"Croix! Croix!" I yell, making more than a few heads turn in my direction. She, of course, stops and looks at me unimpressed.

"Chariot." She simply greets me, but I notice a small smile on her face, making my own widen with enthusiasm.

"Where are you going?" I ask as she starts walking away, hurrying up to keep up with her.

"To class." She says matter-of-factly.

"Cool! Can I walk you there?"

"Sure." She chuckles at my enthusiasm.

"Yay!" I jump and do a little victory dance that is promptly interrupted by an angry yell.

"Miss du Nord, Miss Meridies!" Finnelan yells our names, startling us both so much that I freeze on the spot. "I'm glad I finally found you both." She smiles coldly. "Would you please accompany me to the orientation office? I'd like to discuss the events of yesterday."

Croix and I turn to look at each other. I shoot her a panicked glance, and she responds with a sigh before putting up a perfectly neutral mask and turning to the professor's direction again.

"Of course, Professor Finnelan." She answers politely. She then gives us a court nod and then turns around to start leading the way, but before we follow her.

Sooner than I would have liked it, we arrive at Finnelan's office, and since I'm just an useless wreck of nerves, Croix ends up explaining everything to the professors. From the stand selling weird fruits, to my little show of magic, to how we sent the dragons away. Granted, she does so very accurately, so I can't complain, but hearing it from her makes it sound like it was mostly fault of my reckless use of magic… and maybe it sort of was. Needless to say, Finnelan isn't happy with me. At all.

"Miss du Nord." She starts her scolding with that strict tone of voice and disapproving glare that scares me so much. I cower under her gaze. "Why are you always the one causing the worst disasters?"

"Bad luck?" I answer with a grimace.

"No. You are a bad student. Plain and simple." I flinch at her harsh words.

"Now, now, Finnelan." Holbrooke speaks up from her desk, trying to calm her down. "There's no need to be so hard on her. I'm sure she's already learned her lesson."

"With all due respect, Headmistress Holbrooke, I don't care if she's a descendant of one of the Nine Olde Witches." Finnelan says, glaring at the old and gentle professor. I even feel bad for her. "Rules are rules, and she's broken them far too many times, even endangering lives in the process."

I wince at the last part, remembering yesterday's events. No one really died, sure, but it could have easily happened.

"Not to mention, we had to do damage control before Luna Nova's, and the entire magical world's name, was hurt anymore." Finnelan finished. "This situation could have easily ended in disaster."

"Let's not forget that Miss Meridies was also there. It's unfair to blame Chariot entirety." Holbrooke tries to defend me, meekly. I, however, would prefer to take all the blame than to let Croix's reputation be tarnished.

"None of it was her fault." I protest. "You heard what she said; _I_ used magic, which led to the egg being hatched. She simply helped me send the cub and his mother into the Leyline."

"That's another thing!" Finnelan yells. "Ever since you two became friends, Miss Meridies had been obligated to clean after _your_ messes, and it's showing in her academic grades." I turn to look at my friend, but she deviates her gaze to the ground, giving me all the confirmation I need to know that what Finnelan said is true. I feel pain in my chest, far greater than the one I felt at the thought of getting detention again. The last thing I ever wanted was to get Croix in trouble!

"But.. I-I didn't… I wasn't…" I stutter out, too shaken by this new information to say anything coherent.

"What do you suggest then, Professor Finnelan?" Holbrook asks with a sad look on her face.

"I will give you one more chance to prove me wrong." Finnelan snarls. "Five professors, I won't tell you which, will evaluate your performance tomorrow. If your notes are anything but excellent, you will be expelled." I take a sharp intake of breath at her words, thinking his can't get any worse. Then she turns to look at Croix. "That goes for the both of you."

"W-what?" Croix's eyes widen, and her face pales even more.

"Maybe that'll teach you not to get yourself involved in these sorts of situations." She finishes with a scoff.

"Very well." Professor Holbrooke sighs. "If you really think this is the best course of action, I have no objections." I feel a pang of pain on my chest once more. I thought Holbrooke would defend us! "I'm sure they'll do just fine."

"I accept the punishment." Croix says before I can find my voice and protest about this injustice. I stare at her in disbelief and indignation. "If that's all, I'll be in my room. Studying."

"Very well, Miss Meridies." Holbrooke nods solemnly. "You should also go, Chariot. The two of you are dismissed."

And with just a simple nod, Croix exits the office, looking very angry, even for Croix's standards. I quickly follow her, but she doesn't turn to acknowledge me. When she arrives to her room, she closes the door on my face and locks it, confirming that she's mad at me, probably because she blames me for the punishment.

But then again, maybe it _is_ my fault. Maybe I've got Croix in more trouble she would have ever gotten herself into otherwise. Maybe… I'm really not a good friend.

* * *

I spend the whole night studying… or at least trying to. The thought of being unworthy of Croix's friendship is enough to distract me from anything I try to read, so I end up reading one phrase over and over again until I realize nothing makes sense and move on to the next one. So when the sun comes up, I'm just as unprepared as when it set on the horizon. But I don't want to be expelled! Being a witch is my dream! Yet, I don't know if it's really in my hands to accomplish it.

When I arrive to the classroom, both Croix and Professor Finnelan are already there, meaning I don't have the chance to properly greet my friend and wish her good luck, so I resort to just smiling at her and giving her a thumbs up. In response she attempts to smile, but it ends up looking more like a grimace. From the bags under her eyes and her disheveled appearance, I imagine she didn't sleep much either, and end up feeling even more guilty.

"You are late, Miss du Nord." Finnelan says with an angry scowl. I can only smile sheepishly as answer. "Not that I expected anything else from _you_." She scoffs. "Anyways, take a seat. Your first test will be Bird Language." As I sit down where she pointed me to (very far away from Croix, unfortunately), I notice a black crow standing proudly in a perch next to Finnelan.

The professor first hands Croix a paper sheet, and then comes to give me another one. The instructions on the top are written in lunar runes, but thankfully I recognize some of them and I'm able to properly write my name and date in the corresponding spaces.

"You will listen to the crow and write down what it says. I will do the same and evaluate you according to how accurate what you wrote was." She continues, getting out a notebook and a pen of her own. "Any questions?" When both Croix and I shake our heads, she nods. "Very well then, begin."

I steel my nerves and attempt to stop the shaking of my hands, but since I haven't studied much about bird language, having no familiar of my own, I'm more than just a little nervous. The crow starts cawing and I'm able to understand a couple of words that I quickly write down. Ball and… storm? What? That doesn't make any sense! And now he's saying something about maize? Is he hungry? No, wait. Maze? What does a maze has to do with all of this?

At this rate I'm going to be expelled by the end of the hour! I need to do something!

Wait… I'm very good at metamorphosis magic, am I not? And, if I recall correctly, transforming into an animal gives you the ability to understand the language of the chosen species. I don't think Finnelan would approve, but then again… she's so concentrated on writing down what the crow says that maybe she won't find out if I'm subtle enough.

Careful not to make any sound, I get out my wand and mumble the metamorphosis spell, quickly transforming myself into a crow, just like the one on the front… except red. Damn. This won't do for subtlety, but I guess there's nothing that can be done about it.

The crow speaks again, and this time I'm able to perfectly understand what he's saying. Though… now I can't use my hands to write, so I resort to dipping my claws on the ink and using them to scribble what I'm able to understand on the paper. Sure, it's messy, and I'm barely able to understand my own writing, but I can always write it again (properly) later.

"Chariot!" I hear Croix scream-whispering my name and turn to give her a questioning gaze. She answers with a panicked glance and points with her head at Finnelan. Who still has her eyes firmly on her notebook. "Don't cheat." Croix mouths, but I just roll my eyes. It's not cheating if I'm not caught. Duh.

In that moment though, Finnelan stops writing and I quickly transform myself back into human before she can see me. So when her eyes land on me, I'm just a regular sixteen-year-old student. She eyes us suspiciously, but I just smile trying to look as innocent as possible. After a few tense seconds, she shrugs and goes back to taking notes.

The rest of the exam goes on in a similar fashion, with me alternating between my human and crow forms, making sure Finnelan doesn't catch me. Just when the hour is about to end, however, the crow says something I wasn't expecting at all.

"Professor Finnelan, do you think we can end this early? One of the girls is constantly transforming herself into a crow, and it's very distracting!"

Instantly, Finnelan's eyes land on me while I frantically try to do the metamorphosis spell. However, she still catches a glance of my bird form, and fixes me with a severe glare.

"Miss du Nord." She starts as she approaches, putting down her notebook. I gulp, feeling my stomach twist painfully.

"Y-yes?" I stutter.

"Did I say you could use metamorphosis magic to pass this test?" Her question is no doubt rhetorical. However, my mouth ends up answering before I can stop myself.

"W-well… y-you didn't say we _couldn't_."

Finnelan's eye twitches at my response, and she's about to open her mouth to retort, when Croix speaks up.

"Chariot is right." She says calmly, with an almost layback attitude. Finnelan stares at her like she just sprouted a second head. "Though I admit that using metamorphosis magic shouldn't be permitted on an animal language test, you failed to remind us of that very fact. Thus, Chariot didn't cheat; you simply forgot to tell us the rules."

"I didn't think I had to!" Finnelan retorts, obviously finding Croix's attempt at defending me utterly exasperating. On the other hand, I'm smiling like a fool as a warm sensation spreads through my chest. Honestly, even if I'm failed for cheating, I still wouldn't feel bad because _Croix_ is defending me from Finnelan.

"It's Chariot that we're talking about." Croix pretty much rolls her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "She breaks the rules even when you explicitly tell her not to." I pout at her, but she flashes me one of those confident smiles that never fail to make my heart skip a beat. I quickly deviate my gaze, finding the floor to be _very_ interesting.

"I see what you're trying to do here, Miss Meridies." Finnelan sighs. "And though your attempts at helping your friend are very noble, I can't ignore the fact that she doesn't know as much about crow language as she should. Hence why she had to turn into a bird."

"But you don't know how much she's actually able to understand without transforming, so you can't just fail her either." Croix says matter-of-factly. To my surprise, Finnelan nods solemnly.

"I will grade your exam, Miss du Nord, and subtract two points to whatever grade you get." She glares at me. "You can thank Miss Meridies for my generosity; if it were for me, you'd already be expelled." I gulp and nod vigorously, too surprised to say anything in return. "Well, you are dismissed now. Your next exam will be flying magic, and you _can't_ be late."

I thank Croix as we walk towards the field, but she's still giving me the cold shoulder, despite having defended me from Finnelan. Honestly, this girl! I can't understand her half the time. And we're best friends since like a year ago!

When we arrive, Professor Nelson is already waiting for us, and so are our brooms. This should be easy enough; no one better than me at flying, if I do say so myself. Except maybe Croix. Maybe.

"Okay girls. I don't know what trouble you got into this time, but I'm not going to take it easy on you." She crosses her arms over her chest and gives us a stern expression, but after being with Finnelan for an hour, Nelson doesn't look even slightly intimidating. "You'll be doing an obstacle course I designed specifically for this test. You'll have three minutes to complete it, and every ten seconds after the deadline will rest one point from your grade, is that clear? We both nod. "Good, now get on your brooms. You shall start at the sound of my whistle. Ready? One, two…"

The whistle sounds and both Croix and I take off at maximum speed. Soon enough, I find myself ahead of her, and end up smiling cheekily at my friend, who just rolls her eyes… and easily avoids the first obstacle. I end up hitting the wooden pole face-first, but thankfully I don't fall and only have to take one second to get my bearings and recover from the pain, before taking off after Croix again.

I speed between the poles with ease, just like we do in class, and end up catching up with my friend no problem. Actually, maybe this is _way_ too easy. I bet I could impress Nelson if I pulled of some of the tricks I've practiced, and then maybe she'd help me when it comes to making the decision of my expulsion of Luna Nova. I mean, I doubt I can do as well in the other exams, so why not outdo myself in this one?

Plus, it's more fun.

I soon start showing off, doing complicated acrobatics on my broom in order to evade the obstacles. I don't even have a problem with the magically appearing pillars that sprout from the ground as we go. Croix shoots me a disbelieving stare, but I just smile and wink in return before speeding past her at maximum velocity. We're already half-way through the course, and this doesn't feel like a challenge at all; more like a field trip. How could I make it more interesting? Oh, I know!

In one single motion, I jump on my broom, landing with my soles on the broomstick, and easily maintaining the equilibrium in that position. Turns out, this way is better when it comes to obstacle courses, since now I can make sharper turns and squeeze between small gaps without fearing for the safety of my legs.

"Chariot, stop!" I hear Croix yelling from behind me. "Can you fly normally? You're gonna fall!"

"Yeah, right. I'm not taking advice from a _snail_." I taunt, enjoying way too much the exhilarating sensation flying like this gives me. The wind hitting my face, the pounding on my chest, the adrenaline running through my veins… it's all addicting. Flying has always been one of my favorite things about magic, and even now is the most _fun_.

"Chariot! Dock!" I hear Croix's warning, but before I can process the words, a flock of birds appears out of nowhere and I'm hit by them. I try to deflect them with my hands but because of my position, I easily lose my equilibrium and end up falling from my broom.

"Chariot!" I hear Croix's panicked voice just before hitting the ground. The impact makes me bounce and roll a few seconds before I finally stop. I think I black out for a moment, but when I come back into my senses, I can tell by the intense pain I'm feeling that I'm covered in bruises, scratches, and some rather nasty injures. I can barely breathe and the pain on my ribs tells me I probably broke a couple of them. Yet, I still stand up and search for my broom… only to find it a few feet away. Broken.

"Chariot, are you okay?" Croix asks me from above. I quickly wipe my tears and put on a brave façade. I wouldn't want her to fail because of me.

"Y-yeah. Go ahead, I'll catch up in just a second." I answer.

"Are you sure?" she asks, doubtful.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." I assure her. She eyes me with a concerned gaze, but thankfully ends up flying away. She probably didn't notice my broken broom.

I sigh. This time I really messed up. How on Earth am I supposed to finish the flying magic test without a broom? It's not like I can cast the spell on myself… wait a minute. It _is_ possible to cast _Tya_ _Freire_ on virtually any object, including oneself, like I did only yesterday at my show. We only use brooms because it's more convenient and easier to maneuver. But, maybe I could…

" _Tya_ _Freire_!" I yell, concentrating my magic on the soles of my feet the same way I'd do so with a broom. Instantly, I start elevating myself from the ground. Unlike the sensation of rising up in a broom, when I do this on my own, the magic seems a little unstable. Or maybe it's just my imagination that makes me think I'll fall at any second and get hurt again. Still, I'd feel better if I had more support under my feet, like, if I had four legs instead of two. That'd also make me faster, and I definitely need that if I want to finish the course on time.

Wait… that's it!

" _Metamorphie faciesse_." I transform into a horse, but only partially. Because a simple, ordinary, horse is _way_ too boring, right? So what better than a centaur? A creature said to be only a myth, but one I can turn into with the power of my imagination.

Instantly, I feel the power of my strong legs, and I'm more confident at my ability of running, especially since having four legs definitely improves my equilibrium. It's a little weird though, having half of my body transformed into another animal, and my first steps are a bit hesitant, but I get used to the sensation quickly enough, and soon I'm running through the sky, avoiding the obstacles with ease and, dare I say, grace. Honestly, this is almost as fun as flying!

Though if I didn't have two broken ribs it'd be more fun. Oh! It's a good thing I didn't transform the upper half of my body while injured. It would have been nasty. Croix would be so proud of me, even if my purpose for transforming into a centaur wasn't avoiding a crisis.

Anyways, there's the finishing line! I can already see it. Of course Croix has already arrived, and is waiting for me next to Professor Nelson. And I mean, I wanted to best her for once, but it was my fault for trying to show off. I have to admit she won fairly, as much as it stings.

I descend as I approach the finish line, and stop by diving my hooves on the dirt, leaving a cloud of dust behind me. Once I've come to a complete stop, I transform myself again, stumbling a little as I get used to maintaining the equilibrium in just two legs. Then, I turn around and smirk proudly at seeing Croix's and Nelson's awed faces, their jaws practically hitting the ground.

"So… what was my time, professor?"

At my question Professor Nelson blinks and shakes her head, obviously trying to comprehend what just happened, before finally looking at the clock she's holding on her hand.

"Uh… three minutes and twenty-three seconds."

Instantly, I feel my stomach drop. Did I really take that long? I thought I'd made it just in time! I was right behind Croix, wasn't I?

"What about Croix!?" I ask, fearing the answer.

"Two minutes and fifty-eight seconds." Her gaze is almost proud as she turns to look at my friend. "Not nearly close to her previous record, but still quite impressive considering she stopped to look after you." I open my mouth to protest, thinking it's impossible that there was such a gap between the two of us, but Croix voice interrupts me.

"What happened to your broom, Chariot?" She asks, a frown on her face.

"It broke." I shrug. This action alone makes the pain intensify, and I can't help wincing noticeably. However, none of the two witches comment on that, obviously more concerned with something else.

"And you just… _ran_ the rest of the way?!" She practically screams, staring at me with a mix of horror, disbelief and awe.

"Uh… yeah. It's still flying magic, isn't it?" I try to say it nonchalantly, but I'm feeling so proud about my idea that I can't quite believe I actually accomplished it.

"You used flying magic _and_ metamorphosis magic at the same time." Croix chuckles, shaking her head. "Honestly, only _you_ would think of something so ridiculous and complicated."

"But I passed, didn't I?" I huff, turning to look at Professor Nelson for confirmation. She sighs and looks at her clock once again.

"Well, yes." She answers. "Bumping into one of the obstacles cost you a point. Plus two from the twenty seconds you took past the deadline… that means you got a B."

"What?!" I almost shriek. I was counting on this test to give a chance to get at least _one_ A.

"You could have gotten an A+ if you'd flied normally. Like Croix." She chastises me. I pout. "Honestly, so much wasted potential."

"Professor." Croix interrupts her before Nelson can keep chastising me. "I believe Chariot needs to go to the infirmary, since she got injured with her fall. I will accompany her, if you agree."

"Ah, yes, Miss Meridies. You're right as usual." The professor nods. "Please, make sure she's tended to properly. I'll go tell Professor Lukić that you'll be arriving a little late." And with that, she flies off on her broom.

"Ah… I wished she'd give me extra points for what I did with flying magic." I sigh as soon as she's out of earshot.

"Not everyone appreciates creativity, Chariot." Croix says as she approaches me, a gentle smile firmly on her face. "But for the record, I'm really impressed."

My heart skips a beat at her words, and a smile of my own soon appears on my face.

"I must have hit my head hard. I'd swear I just heard you compliment me." I joke.

"Don't let it go to your head." She chuckles, ruffling my hair affectionately. "But yes, I did compliment you. Honestly, maintaining control of both spells at the same time is quite a feat. One I doubt even _I_ would be able to accomplish."

"Really?" I stare at her in disbelief. It was _way_ too easy for me!

"Yes. And it takes quite a significant amount of magic too. I'm surprised you didn't faint afterwards."

"You've never complimented me like this before." I say, feeling a prominent blush taking over my face, mostly because of how proudly and affectionately she's looking at me. "And here I thought you were mad at me!"

Croix's expression then turns into a frown.

"I'm mostly mad at the teachers, to be honest." She says in a cold way, contrasting with how she'd been talking to me until now. "And I definitely don't appreciate being in this situation at all." She continues, unable to hide the anger on her voice. Yet, then she takes a deep breath in order to calm herself down, speaking her next words more softly. "But I'm still your friend. And since we're in this together, I might as well support you in any way I can, right?" She smiles hesitantly. It's just a tiny twitch of her lips curling upwards, but it's enough to make the smile return to my face as I pretty much tackle her in a hug… and then I remember I broke my ribs.

"Ow, ow, ow!" I scream in pain as I separate myself from Croix and take deep breaths, trying to push down the pain. Still, my eyes start stinging with unshed tears.

"Let's get you to the infirmary before you manage to injure yourself further." She sighs. But the gentle sound of her voice is enough to make me forget about my pain.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey! I did promise to update every two weeks, didn't I? XD. Anyways, this is the exciting start of a very long and fun arc in this fic, so I hope you enjoyed, and if you did, please review/follow/favorite. It really do helps a lot!**

 **Well, thanks for reading! And thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :)**

 **See you in two weeks!**


	33. Surprise exams - part 2

**Chapter 32: Surprise exams – Part 2.**

We arrive to the Laboratory B, where Professor Lukić usually imparts her alchemy and pharmaceutics classes, after the nurse patched me up and gave me quite the scolding for being so reckless. Honestly, at this point I should at least get some sort of "frequent client" card with her, or something, maybe get a treat for so many visits. But thankfully I'm feeling better now. Not enough for complicated potion making, but then again, I'm never feeling up for that.

"Just don't blow anything up." Croix whispers in a joking tone before going to take her seat at the other end of the lab, while I take the closest one to the door, smiling at my friend's jest and feeling more confident already.

"For today's test you'll be doing a deadly potion! Hehehehe! And testing it on yourselves! Hehehehe!" Professor Lukić laughs maniacally once we're seated, making a chill run down my spine. She can't be serious, can she? Honestly, with her it's quite difficult to know.

"At least, that's what I'd like to say." She cuts her own laughter off abruptly, replacing it with a frown. "You're making an invisibility potion instead. Let's see what you can do." She pauses, giving me a malevolent smirk. "You'll have as much time as you need, but after the first one finishes, the second one will only have five more minutes to complete her potion. Hehehehe. Begin!"

Croix nods and quickly gets up to pick up the ingredients stored in jars at the back of the lab. I get up a lot more hesitantly, trying to remember what the heck the invisibility potion was supposed to be made of. Maybe if I take a peek at Croix's ingredients…

"Stop right there, Miss du Nord." Lukić's raspy voice stops me dead in my tracks. "Let her get her ingredients first, and then you can retrieve yours." I sigh, but relent, instead trying to memorize at least which jars she opened. Once she's finally finished, she turns around and walks to her seat, discreetly showing me a couple of dry leaves as she passes. I can't fully identify them for their shape though. Were they violet mimosa leaves? Mystique line leaves? Maybe something completely different? I'm so going to fail this, aren't I?

"Miss Du Nord! Hurry up and pick your ingredients, we don't have all day!" Lukić's voice makes me jump a little in fright, and I quickly hurry up to the jars, picking up what I kinda remember were the right ones.

Let's see… a small dragon teeth, or were they two? Better safe than sorry, I guess. Next is… two spoonfuls of Minotaur's horn dust. I'll take three, just in case. Then a magic clover… or was it a four-leaved clover? I'll take one of each. Now, I need a siren's scale. Or was it a figment moth's scale? Huh. I like siren's better, so siren it is. And finally… the stupid leaves Croix showed me. Which I still don't know what exactly they are. I guess I'll take violet mimosa, because they have a pretty color.

I then return to my cauldron, turn the heat on with my wand, and add the ingredients in the order I sort of remember them being supposed to be added. Granted, I'm not sure about that. Nor about the boiling time for that matter, or the temperature, or if I'm supposed to cut or grind some of the ingredients.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if this just ended up being another explosive disaster.

"Croix, I see that your potion is ready." Professor Lukić says, breaking my already poor concentration.

"Uh. Yes. That's correct." She answers hesitantly, probably because she wanted to stall a bit. To give me a chance to finish.

"You know what that means, don't you, du Nord?" Lukić cackles. "Five more minutes!"

I curse under my breath and pull out my wand, ready to infuse the potion with magic even when I'm absolutely sure it won't work. Maybe I should just not put any magic into it; that way if it fails, at least it won't explode either, or turn me green or something (it's happened). As it is now, it's a very gross, very useless, harmless soup. If I drink it, nothing should happen. I won't turn into a three-eyed monster (also has happened), but I won't pass either.

Unless…

"Ready you two? It's time to test your potions." Lukić says, laughing manically. I wished she wouldn't do that. It's not helping calm my nerves.

"I'll go first." Croix says before taking a spoonful of her potion and drinking it swiftly. I'll give her points for not making a face at the taste. Not that it matters though, since she disappears completely within just a few seconds.

Lukić approaches her and examines the space where she is, nodding in approval once she seems satisfied by what she saw.

"I've seen better. Your silhouette is still distinguishable at the borders, but it's very impressive nonetheless, considering magical pharmaceutics isn't exactly your strongest point."

"Thank you, professor." Croix answers politely. I can almost see her self-sufficient smile, even if she's invisible.

"Now you." Lukić approaches me, wearing an excitedly malicious expression on her face. "Come on, if you're going to blow up my lab, do it now. Then we can start the reparations sooner." She scowls.

"R-right." I stutter out, nervous because of what I'm about to do. Does it count as cheating? I'm guessing it does. But I really have no choice.

With shaky hands I take a spoonful of the disgusting-looking maroon potion and bring it to my lips, making a grimace as the awful taste attacks my tongue. Then comes the difficult part.

I have never casted a spell without pronouncing the words out loud, but I know how it's supposed to work. It's not enough to just think about the words in your head; you have to also imagine what you want to happen, to _feel_ it. If you want to become invisible, you need to desperately want to disappear from sight. Oh! Maybe if I recall one of the many occasions I was ridiculed in front of the school! Yes, that should work!

 _Toriara faciesse._ Isay inside my head while I recall all those occasions I made a fool of myself in front of everyone and just wanted to disappear, grasping the feeling of deep shame inside my chest and embracing it completely, letting it consume my whole body until I truly wish the earth would just open up and swallow me whole.

I slowly open one eye to see Professor Lukić eying me with interest, and from different angles. I hold my breath in anticipation for what she'll say next. Did it work?

"I see… This is some very advanced invisibility magic you used here, Miss du Nord." She nods thoughtfully. "Even better than Miss Meridies' actually." She laughs, with that awful laugh she always uses.

Instantly, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I can't believe I managed to pull that off!

"However…" Her raspy voice manages to put me on edge again with just one word. I see her dip her fingers inside my cauldron and bring them up to smell the gooey potion. "You don't fool me. You didn't use an invisibility potion! Hehehehehe!" My stomach drops to my feet. Oh no, I've been discovered! "This is just a combination of various common ingredients, but lacks the main ingredient of any invisibility potion: transparent-plant leaves."

"But Croix's leaves weren't transparent!" I protest without thinking.

"Of course not." She scoffs. "They only turn transparent when boiled in water. Any decent witch knows that!" The scowl she gives me is enough to make me want to run away as quickly as possible before she turns me into a frog or something. "I won't be tolerating your poor attempts at cheating on my test! I will, therefore, fail you."

"B-but…!" I start a feeble attempt at protesting, even when I don't really have anything to say on my favor.

"One more word, and I swear I'll cut your tongue off and use it on my experiments!" Lukić interrupts me, sending me a glare so intense I swear I can feel it burning on my skin. When I just gulp in fright and say nothing else (I'm pretty sure she's serious about her threat), she turns around and scoffs. "Now, you two go to the classroom 2-1 for your next exam. I wish you the worst of lucks."

* * *

Astrology with Professor Holbrooke should be easy. I think. Just a couple of harmless predictions about the weather or whatever, and she should be satisfied… right? I mean, I'm good at her class! Not the best, of course, but at least I'm not failing.

"Chariot, please come to the front and read the horoscope for this season. It can be yours or someone else's; it's your choice." She calls, and I stand up from where I was before, confident of my abilities but still nervous because, well, it is an _exam_.

"Right." I quickly say as I get out my wand and cast the projection spell in order to visualize the positions of the stars in a green sphere of light surrounding me. I instantly distinguish some rather contradictory signs (or maybe I'm just bad at understanding what they mean together), but since the future is always open to interpretation, I decide to not take risks and just state what I'm confident makes some sort of sense, at least in my head.

"Well…" I start. "It looks like the next months will be full of challenges and personal growth for me. And, uhm… a blossoming romance?" I blush. Gosh, why did _that_ have to be one of the things I understood? I don't even like _like_ anyone! Yet. I guess.

"Excellent! I knew you could do it." She smiles happily at me, and I instantly return the gesture, feeling proud of my accomplishment. "Croix, your turn now."

"Okay." She says boringly as she prepares to cast the same spell. Meanwhile I dissipate my own. She barely glances at the stars before giving her answer. "So… it looks like the professors of Luna Nova will have a difficult decision to make. Their choice could possibly affect something far greater than this school, and will shape the foreseeable future."

"That's… a very accurate and advanced prediction, actually." Holbrooke answers, impressed, and my jaw drops to the ground. So… she _really_ did see that? Meanwhile I struggled predicting my own future! Why does Croix have to be so amazing all the time? "You both did well, girls." The kind professor smiles. "And you should get going now; you wouldn't want to be late to your next test, right? I believe Professor Babcock will be on charge of it."

Professor Babcock?! Great just when I thought things were taking a turn for the better. She's probably the only professor that hates me almost as much as Finnelan does.

* * *

"Miss Meridies, Miss du Nord! You're late!" Professor Babcock chastises us as we enter the classroom.

"Sorry." I say sheepishly.

"We're just in time." Croix contradicts her, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning. The professor, however, just ignores her as she quickly goes to stand in front of two cages, a tiny mouse inside of each one.

"Time is money, so it's better not to waste it. This test will be brief then, so we can come to our decision about your future here at Luna Nova as soon as possible." Babcock says as she picks up a pen and a clip board. "Miss Meridies, you go first." At this, one of the cages disappear and the mouse is left standing confused on the table. "Turn it into whatever animal you want; the better the transformation is, the better your grade."

"Child's play." She shrugs, getting out her wand before pronouncing the spell with ease. " _Metamorphie faciesse_."

Instantly, a swirl of green magic surrounds the mouse before it's enveloped in a cloud of white mist, emerging transformed into a… dragon?! Did Croix just turned a tiny mouse into a human-sized dragon?! Similar to the one that attacked us in Blytonbury? What a show off!

"A Fruit Dragon?" Professor Babcock raises an eyebrow, apparently unimpressed. "It's missing a few details. For once, the head is too big, and the horns too small. Next time try using something you've seen beyond fairytale illustrations." She scoffs. Even though it was an exact replica of the one we'd seen. Ugh. I hate her. "Miss du Nord, your turn."

"R-right." I stutter out as I ready my wand. I shouldn't feel nervous. Metamorphosis magic is one of the few things I'm good at, after all! But I almost always use it in myself. When I try with other animals… the results are always less than favorable. I should try something simple then. A bat, maybe? I just have to add two wings, right? The body is almost the same.

I concentrate on my own mouse (now outside its cage), but it's difficult when its body isn't mine! It's like there's an invisible barrier between it and me! I can't feel the exact position of its paws, and ears, and nose, and… ugh! I'll just try visualizing the changes it'll have to go through on my head before finally pronouncing the spell. It has worked before. A couple of times.

" _Metamorphie faciesse!_ " I say. And as soon as the words leave my mouth, I find myself no longer standing, but _flying_ on the air, supported by my two wings. Wait, what?

"Disgraceful." Babcock says with a scowl. "You can turn yourself into a very realistic-looking bat, yet you can't manage to do the same to a tiny mouse. I guess that's just a reflection of how self-centered you truly are."

Feeling a pang of pain on my chest, I end the spell and sigh, now in my human form. I'm disappointed on myself, but not really all that surprised. Maybe if I practiced metamorphosis magic on other living beings, like Croix suggested, I could have done decently on this exam. I mean, it's the exact same magic I use every time I do my shows! Just applied on something other than my own body. Maybe I really am too self-centered.

Whatever. It's not like I will be able to change Babcock's mind. I may as well accept my destiny with a brave face.

* * *

As we approach the headmistress' office, I start nervously clenching and unclenching my _very_ sweaty hands. My stomach turns painfully and my legs tremble just because of the anxiety this whole thing is giving me. I mean, sure, I did fine in a couple of exams, but… I _am_ the school's troublemaker, and what I did the other day did endanger many lives, even if it wasn't intentional.

I don't think they'll go easy on me. Croix? Sure, they'll spare her with a little more than a light scolding, but me? My only hope is that Holbrooke will have mercy as she usually does.

Suddenly, I feel slim fingers slipping between mine, squeezing my hand in a comforting gesture. I look up and find Croix's teal eyes looking at me in a warm kind of way that makes my heart jump for a totally different reason. And that smile! It's enough to make me forget about all my problems and smile like a fool back at her.

"Everything is gonna be fine. You'll see." She reassures me, squeezing my hand once again for good measure.

"I hope so." I answer. But now the doubts have entered my head again, more so because we've just come to a stop in front of the unmistakable door to Holbrooke's office.

Babcock (who escorted us all the way here) quickly knocks the door and enters without waiting for an answer. Unsurprisingly, standing there in front of the desk at which the headmistress sits, are the other professors that evaluated us today, already waiting for us.

Croix and I follow her in, but unfortunately she lets go of my hand. I guess such a show of affection isn't proper here.

"Professor Babcock. Miss Meridies. Miss du Nord." Holbrooke acknowledges us with a polite nod. "We were waiting for you." There's a tense atmosphere in the room as Babcock goes to join the rest of the professors, who are now staring at my friend and I with serious expressions. Of course, this only makes me get even _more_ nervous.

"As you already know, today we'll be deciding if you are suited to remain attending to this school." Finnelan is the first one to break the silence, speaking in a cold and strict tone, and looking at me with those depreciating eyes I hate so much. "This will, of course, depend on your performance on the tests you just presented." She pauses, and turns to address Professor Nelson, who is next to her. "Professor, please tell us what their grades are on the Flying Magic test."

Professor Nelson steps forward and gets out a notebook, clearing her throat before speaking with what sounds like a resigned tone of voice.

"Well, Croix Meridies did quite well, as expected, despite pausing to try and help her friend. That's why I decided to give her an A+." She pauses, glancing briefly at me before continuing. "On the other hand, Chariot du Nord recklessly tried to show off her skills at flying, which resulted on her falling and getting injured. Then she used some rather… _unconventional_ magic to finish the race, and still arrived after the deadline." She makes a grimace. "I'm therefore forced to give her a B. And I'm being generous, to be honest."

I try to suppress a small whimper, but I guess I failed, judging for the sympathetic glance my friend gives me. I wished I could hold her hand right now! Or hug her! That'd make me feel infinitely better.

"I see." Finnelan nods thoughtfully. "Thank you, professor." Nelson takes her cue and steps back, at which Finnelan turns to acknowledge the (probably) oldest witch in the room. "Professor Lukić…"

"Yes, yes. I'll give my report." She cuts her off, stepping forward and regarding us in the same way a serpent watches it's pray. I'd feel scared if I didn't already know what she's going to say. I just feel… empty. "Miss Meridies' invisibility potion was quite good, but not perfect, so I gave her an A." She pauses, then pointing her bulging eyes directly at me. "Miss du Nord just made a mess and tried to cheat by using an invisibility spell, so I gave her an F."

"Very well. Miranda, please." Finnelan then turns to address the headmistress, who alternates her gaze between her and us, before sighing and getting up from her chair in order to rely her verdict.

"Both girls performed extraordinarily on my test, managing to do some very complicated and accurate predictions. Though I'll admit that Croix's was more advanced. Therefore, I'll give Chariot an A and Croix an A+." She says.

"I see." Finnelan says sourly, obviously not liking the answer, but wisely refraining herself from saying anything else, before addressing Professor Babcock.

"Miss Meridies tried to show off by transforming a mouse into a Fruit Dragon." Babcock starts explaining. "While it wasn't perfect, it was a very advanced transformation and she managed to do it well enough, so I think she deserves an A-." Wow, Croix's lowest grade so far. I don't even want to know how she's going to evaluate me. "Miss du Nord, on the other hand, only managed to transform _herself_ into a bat, instead of the mouse." She scoffs. "For a second-year to struggle with transformation magic is unheard of! So I believe she deserves an F."

I'm not going to say that I wasn't expecting that, but it sure still hurt. My possibilities of remaining a student here at Luna Nova are getting thinner by the second.

"I see." Finnelan nods. "I will also express my opinion then." She pauses, regarding Croix with a strict, but almost gentle, expression as she speaks. "Miss Meridies has proven to be a prodigy in almost all fields of magic time and time again, and today was no exception. Even in the Bird Language exam she performed wonderfully and earned an A+." She then turns to me, and I can't help but cower under her intense glare. "On the other hand, Miss du Nord is nothing more than a troublemaker, and a lazy girl that relies on tricks and cheats to get what she wants. In my opinion, she's a disgrace to this school and to the magic community, and definitely isn't worth all the chances we've given her just because she's, _maybe_ , the descendant of one of the Nine Olde Witches. Which I still seriously doubt." She makes a dramatic pause. "Today's exam of Bird Language was a perfect example for this, as she resorted to the use of transformation magic in order to pass it. Demonstrating, not only that she still can't understand bird language, a skill essential for any witch, but also that she's willing to use magic for her own benefit." She then scowls at me and I cower under her gaze. "Therefore…" She continues. "I'll give her a C-, even if I think she deserves an F, and deem her unfit to remain in this school."

My face drops and my stomach twists painfully, and I have to actually hug my own midsection in order to get some sort of comfort. I mean, I have always known Professor Finnelan despises me, for whatever reason, and absolutely loathes the unconventional ways I use magic. I obviously expected her to say such harsh things about me and yet… her response doesn't hurt any less, nor is it less unsettling. She _is_ the school's counselor, after all, and the deputy headmistress. I can't help fearing the Headmistress will heed her advice.

"Professor Finnelan, don't you think your words are a little too harsh?" Holbrooke speaks up, giving me hope and stopping the stinging tears on my eyes from falling. "What Chariot has done surely doesn't merit such…"

"What Chariot has done?!" Finnelan interrupts her, indignant. "May I remind you that she has been struggling in every subject ever since she was accepted in this school? That she has caused more mischief and found herself in detention far more times than I could count?! That she has cheated on exams, broken the rules and made preposterous shows of magic on numerous occasions? And that she endangered the lives of magicless civilians because of said stupid displays of magic?!" By this point, Finnelan is positively fuming, and I… well, being reminded of all my failures just serves to make my tears fall in rapid succession down my cheeks, the knot on my throat tightening painfully.

"And don't get me started with what she's done to Miss Meridies!" Finnelan continues her angry rant. "I thought them being together would be a good idea; that the prodigy of Luna Nova would be a good influence over this troublemaker, but it was the other way around! Miss Meridies' grades, though still excellent, have dropped enough for her mother to notice, and she has even called to inform me about her concerns! And what can I tell her? That the reason her daughter's performance was affected is a student that should have been expelled a long time ago?" She pauses, trying to regain her composure but failing, her chest still heaving and her face red in anger as she looks at the Headmistress. "We have allowed this to go on for too long! Miss du Nord can't even be deemed a witch when compared with Miss Meridies! You have to acknowledge the problem, Holbrooke, and act rationally for once. She _needs_ to be expelled."

The Headmistress sighs and closes her eyes, intertwining her fingers as she takes a pensive posture. We all hold our breaths as we wait for her decision, but I don't dare hope. Finnelan is right. I'm nothing compared to Croix! She did amazingly today! And all the other days too. While I'm just… a buffoon. Even some first years do magic better than me, so who am I kidding? I'm a failure.

Yet, a tiny spark of hope remains. The part that wishes to see Holbrooke's kind smile, and hear her motherly voice as she gives me yet another chance. As she says she believes in me.

A tiny spark… that is promptly crushed.

"It deeply pains me to say this, Chariot, but…" She takes a deep and shaky breath. "I have to agree with Professor Finnelan. You are no longer suited to remain in this academy."

* * *

"Wait… WHAT?" Akko screamed, not believing what her ears had just heard. "You were expelled?! But… You're freaking Shiny Chariot! You're my sensei! You…" She trailed off, agitated and not making sense of anything at all.

"Ah… yes." Ursula said shyly. "Unfortunately, being a troublemaker doesn't exactly get you in good terms with Finnelan. And, although I did know Miranda since I was a child, she too had her doubts from the beginning about accepting a self-taught student into this academy. I believe at the end she decided that, since most professors seem to want me expelled, I was probably better suited for a less prestigious academy, or even that it was best for me to study a non-magical career." She explained, trying to appear calm, but her pals were sweaty and she was looking to the side instead of at her student. She really didn't want Akko to think less of her. "Honestly… I wasn't all that surprised."

"Sensei…" Akko noticed the way Ursula's shoulders tensed, how her fingers were shaking slightly and her eyes were sad, even if she tried to conceal it, and she instantly knew this was still a very sensitive subject for her mentor. So she took her hand as a sign of comfort and smiled at her. "Listen… Finnelan was wrong. She's a bitter old woman who doesn't understand creativity, and progress and anything that differs from her point of view. They shouldn't have expelled you."

At this, Ursula smiled gratefully at Akko and even chuckled a little.

"I know that now." She said. "That's why I stood up for you when they were trying to expel you. It wasn't fair for you, just like it hadn't been fair for me." She paused, and her smile turned happier. "It really isn't fair to compare someone with someone other than themselves, because we're all different."

At this, Akko paused and looked at her sensei with a thoughtful expression.

"Didn't you say something like that to me when I was trying to become Moonlit Witch?"

"Perhaps." She smiled mysteriously.

"But… then what happened at the Samhain Festival? It was only a few weeks away, right? Were you even able to participate after being expelled? I have so many questions!"

The professor laughed at her enthusiasm and tried to calm her down.

"Hold on, Akko. It's already quite late, and this story is pretty long. You should go."

"But sensei…" She whined and pouted adorably.

"Akko, come on, I'll tell you the rest tomorrow, alright?"

"Hmf." She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed indignantly. "Fine. Whatever. But you better tell me the whole thing or I'm gonna riot!" At this, Ursula could just laugh in amusement.

"I'll try."

* * *

 **A/N: Have I ever mentioned I love cliffhangers? XD. But hey, look at the bright side! You'll only have to wait two weeks to read what's next. And anyways, thanks for reaing, I hope you liked this little thing, and that you leave a review/favorite/follow if you did. See you soon!**

 **Thanks to my beta reader monwatcher13.**


	34. This can't be happening

**Chapter 33: This can't be happening.**

"Sensei!" As always, Akko irrupted in her teacher's room without even knocking. But Ursula was prepared, and was already sitting at her desk with a ton of books and two cups of tea, so she smiled gently at her student and invited her to take a sit, which the hyperactive girl promptly did, almost making the chair fall over.

"Careful, Akko." She said, but was promptly ignored by the young witch.

"Sensei! Are you going to tell me today about what happened after you were expelled? Please tell me you were able to convince them of letting you stay! Or maybe Croix did? Or Holbrooke changed her mind? Did you use a memory spell? Or traveled back in time? Or maybe…?"

"Akko!" Ursula was finally able to stop the wave of questions that was flowing out of the girl's mouth. "Okay, slow down. I'll tell you everything, but first we need to-"

"Nope!"

"What do you mean 'no'? I know you've improved a lot, but you're still behind in some subjects and-"

"I studied with Diana." She interrupted her again, but this time the teacher was truly surprised by her words.

"Diana?" She repeated, still processing the new information. Akko nodded in response. "But why…?" She trailed off, wondering why the prodigy would agree to help her when she was so busy herself _and_ already knew Ursula was Akko's tutor.

"I told her you wouldn't be able to tutor me today, so she offered to help me. And we had a great time too! She's super sweet and patient!"

"Uhh… Alright." She was finally beginning to understand. "But why would you do that? I _am_ helping you study today."

"Nope! You're telling me the whole story because now we have quite a few hours of free time!"

"Akko…" She sighed. "You shouldn't be lying to Diana like this. I'm sure she has a lot of things to do herself."

"Yeah, and she was glad to have an excuse to cancel them! Plus, I will make it up to her, really!"

"But-"

"Sensei!" Akko pouted angrily. "Pleaseeeee?"

At this point, the teacher knew she'd waste more time convincing the stubborn girl to also study with her than just telling her the story outright, so she sighed in defeat.

"Fine." She agreed reluctantly. "But first you have to promise that you won't do this again."

"I promise!" She answered eagerly.

"Alright. Well… where were we?"

* * *

I'm lying on Croix's couch, curled up and hugging my legs tightly. My eyes are dry and sting painfully because of how long I've been crying. My throat is sore, and my whole body feels like it will collapse at any second. It's like my whole world just crumbled around me.

As soon as Holbrooke announced her verdict I got out and ran as fast as I could, not even knowing where I was going until I found myself surrounded by the familiar smell of ramen and I threw myself to the couch. I didn't stop when I heard them calling me, or when I noticed Croix had tried to follow me but couldn't keep up with my speed. All I wanted was to get away. From everything.

I don't know how long I've been here. But now it's dark, and I'm still alone.

Weird. I thought by now Croix would have figured out where I was.

As if reading my mind, the door opens in that very moment and the steps of someone that can be no one but my best friend resonate in the room as she comes to stand beside the couch. I can only really see her silhouette in the darkness that has enveloped the room, but I'm thankful she doesn't turn on the lights; I don't want her to see me like this.

"Chariot." Is the first thing she says after a few seconds of just standing there in the shadows. Her voice sounds exhausted, and stranded. Like she's just as devastated as I am.

"C-Croix." I answer, but it sounds more like a whimper.

My friend lets out a long, tired sigh, and then comes sit on the small space that my fetal position has left empty on the couch.

"I suppose you want to sleep here tonight?" She asks. I nod, not wanting to face my roommates yet. "Yeah, me too. Let me just get us some more comfortable clothes." And with that she gets out her wand and pronounces the spell. " _Metamorphie_ _vestesse_." Instantly, the stiffness and suffocating feeling of my uniform disappear, and are replaced by a comfortable and warm sensation. Maybe a tracksuit, then?

Croix, on the other hand, is now wearing pants and a hoodie, as usual when we are alone. I'm about to thank her, since this is indeed way more comfortable to sleep, and I feel tired enough to sleep for 24 hours straight, when she places her hand over one of mine, but the touch is delicate. Like she thinks I'll break.

"Can I stay? Or do you prefer to be alone?" Her tone is sad, a small trembling on her voice signaling just how insecure she is, how much she needs to be near me right now, but also fears that I won't accept. Honestly, at first I came here because I wanted to be alone, sure, but the reason I didn't choose any other place is because I wanted Croix to find me eventually. I need her.

I move my hand and intertwine my fingers with Croix, rolling around so that I'm lying on my back, my legs resting on Croix's lap.

"Stay." Is all I say.

She takes a sharp intake of breath before nodding once and slowly lowering herself down on the couch, between me and the backrest, giving me time to readjust our positions so that we don't fall off. At the end, since the couch isn't wide enough, I end up lying almost completely on top of Croix. But that's okay. It certainly doesn't seem to bother her, if he way she tightens her grip around me is any indication, and I… I feel so warm. And not only in the literal sense. The familiar salty smell of instant noodles that is so characteristic of Croix. The soft feeling of her hoodie's cloth. The gentle rise and fall of her chest, and the audible beating of her heart. It's all very comforting. More so in a situation as this one, which made me feel so helpless and alone.

Even if she doesn't say it out loud, the message is clear: _You're not alone. I'm here for you._

And so, I snuggle closer to Croix, inhaling deeply to take in her scent, and wrapping my arms around her as tightly as I dare. I'm so grateful a few tears start falling from my eyes, which I had previously thought to be dry. And soon I'm crying once again; this time being comforted by my friend's affectionate caresses and by the kisses she places at the top of my head every once in a while.

It's not enough to mend my broken heart completely, but at least her actions appear to fix some of the cracks.

* * *

I wake up when I feel Croix's body shifting next to mine, presumably trying to get off my grip. Without even opening my eyes I, of course, only hug her tighter, pouting at her attempts to escape.

"Chariot." She sighs as one of her hands come to rest into my shoulder, gently pushing me away. "Please, let me go. I need to go to class, and so should you."

Her sobering words remind me of why exactly I was crying during most of yesterday's evening, and my chest tightens at the thought. Suddenly, I'm not feeling so warm and comfortable in my friend's arms. I feel empty and cold. I have to fight back the tears that start forming in my eyes again.

"I was expelled." I remind her. "There's no need for me to wake up." I sigh, already hating myself for what I'm going to say next. "But you should go."

"… will you let go of me, then?" Croix asks, chuckling, after a few seconds pass and I keep clinging to her like ivy. In response, I bury my head on the crook of her neck and squeeze her with my arms and legs. She just shakes her head and laughs, but she doesn't sound happy, exactly, more like she's trying to put a brave mask for me.

"Chariot, I was serious when I said you should go to class." She says when my grip on her doesn't relent. "Yesterday, after you ran away, I went back and argued with the teachers to try and convince them not to expel you."

My head shoots up in an instant as I stare at her with wide eyes, hoping against hope that she was able to, once again, save from a situation I got into myself. However, when I see her bloodshot eyes, her messy hair, the black bags under her eyes, and her overall miserable appearance, I realize what happened, even before she says it.

"U-unfortunately…" She draws in a shaky breath, obviously trying not to cry. "They were firm. Finnelan, mostly. But I was able to convince them to allow you to remain here until the end of the semester."

"Just a few weeks, then." I grimace. "Until the Samhain festival." She nods, our noses touching for a brief moment because of how close we are. Weirdly enough, I want to be even closer.

"Maybe if during these weeks you try and further improve your academic performance, they'll let you stay." She finishes weakly, like even _she_ is unconvinced this will work. Needless to say, I'm even more skeptical.

"That's not what they said." I say. It's not a question.

"Well… no, but…"

"I put all my effort into those stupid surprise exams! I did my best, and it still wasn't enough for them!" I practically yell as the anger about this injustice overcomes the sadness. "It's clear that, no matter what I do, they won't change their minds, so why bother?"

"Because they haven't seen what you can really do!" She yells, startling me with her outburst. She seems surprised too, for a moment, but then recovers and quickly keeps talking.

"Chariot, you are the most amazing person I know, and the most powerful and talented witch… after me, of course." I would roll my eyes if I didn't completely agree with her. Even if I know she just added the last part because she can't ever miss an opportunity to be sassy.

"You taught me that doing unconventional magic doesn't make me any less of a witch, and you were the first one to see me for who I really am, and not just as the 'unapproachable prodigy of Luna Nova'." She chuckles, rolling her eyes. "You got me out of my shell, and became my first friend. _Ever_." She pauses, smiling kindly at me, her eyes shining with so much affection, I forget how to breathe for a moment. "But most importantly, you reminded me why I love magic in the first place. You showed me it isn't just a tool to reach my goals, but that it's also a very important part of my identity. And that, for it to truly work, I have to enjoy it."

We stay silent for a few seconds, Croix reaching out and putting a stray lock of hair behind my ear, then caressing my cheek carefully as an attempt to give me some sort of comfort. I just close my eyes and let her pamper me for a while, but then I remember she has to go to classes soon and, as much as I like her company, I can't let her throw her life away for someone as useless as me. I got myself into this. I have to man up and accept the consequences, as harsh as they are.

"Croix…" I start, putting my hand over hers in a feeble attempt to stop the knot from forming on my throat as I speak. "I appreciate what you are trying to do, but… I think we both know that, if we weren't friends, you wouldn't be saying this."

"You think I'm lying just to make you feel good?" She scoffs.

"I think your feelings are clouding your judgement." I answer, fighting to get the words out of my sore throat. "You know, as well as I do, that hatching the dragon egg and failing the exams are just the tip of the iceberg."

"You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs." She says, trying to sound optimistic, but the tremble of her voice shows just how much this situation confuses and upsets her.

"Croix… as much as I want to remain here with you forever, I really think you should go now." I answer, finally opening my eyes and staring directly at her teal orbs. I know this conversation won't take us anywhere; not when we're both feeling like garbage.

"I understand." Croix sighs. "And if you want to stay here all day, I won't stop you." She pauses, pursing her lips. "But I don't think moping around will do you any good either so… if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know." She finishes with a gentle smile as she leans in to place a lingering kiss on my forehead. I relish on the sensation for as long as it lasts, but sooner than I would have liked it, Croix pulls away and tries to get up without knocking me out of the couch. I readjust my position in order to let her get off, and then watch as she goes to search for her glasses (how did they end on the floor?) and her wand, before dissipating the clothes transformation spell and ending up in the wrinkled school uniform she used yesterday. As do I. Well, magic can't last forever, even if I'm really missing that tracksuit.

She sighs, but knows there's nothing she can do about it right now, so she turns to look at me with an apologetic expression.

"I need to go change my clothes, and then I'll be going to class…" She pauses, unsure. "Unless you want me to stay?" Even though the offer, I can still see how hesitant Croix is in the way her hands nervously play with the fabric of her uniform and her eyes keep shifting between me and the clock.

And I know how much her grades mean to her. I could never ask her to fail to attend classes just because I'm feeling sad. Even if I really want to.

"Go. I'll see you at lunch." I answer, mustering the best smile I can manage.

"Are you sure?" She asks apprehensively.

"Yeah… right now I need to be alone." Fortunately, it's not entirely a lie (since I'm a very bad liar), because I don't really feel want to deal with people right now, but then again, Croix isn't just any person. I just hope I sound believable.

"Alright. I'll be going now, but don't hesitate to go to me if you need anything."

"I will." I nod reassuringly.

"Fine." She pauses for a second, staring at me with both worry and affection, before pronouncing the teleportation spell and disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Then, I'm left with just my thoughts. And I'd certainly prefer not to be.

* * *

Trying to get things out of my mind, after spending the last two hours just staring blankly at the ceiling and trying not to cry, I decide to go on a stroll around campus. Maybe a bit of fresh air will help improve my mood somehow.

However, it all soon proves to be a bad idea. Because just looking at the mostly-empty corridors reminds me everyone else is taking class, while I'm… wandering around like a ghost. I decide to go to the courtyard then, hoping that the greenery and peaceful calm of said place will help calm my aching heart. But… what before seemed peaceful and bright, now just has some sort of melancholic feeling to it. The heat of the sun on my skin, the sweet smell of the grass, the sound of the birds singing from the rooftops… I soon won't be able to experience it again.

I furiously wipe the tears that have started falling down my cheeks. I'm sick of crying! I'm sick of feeling like this! Magic is supposed to bring happiness to everyone, and yet magic brought me here. Maybe if I had attended a normal, non-magical, school from the beginning, I would have saved myself the heartache. Maybe I wasn't really meant to be a witch.

"Chariot?" I hear a familiar voice on the far end of the courtyard, and I quickly wipe my tears and get up, not wanting to see anyone right now. Not even my friends.

"Chariot, wait!" The twins say simultaneously as they come running to me, stepping on my way and preventing me from leaving. I sigh. I really don't want to have to explain everything to them.

"Chariot, are you okay? You look terrible! And why didn't you go to class? Everyone was asking for you." Anaid is the first one to speak, her brows creased with worry. "And why are you crying?" She then adds, apparently noticing my swollen eyes.

"Oh, come on! Knowing Chariot, it's probably something silly, like… did Croix say something mean again, or something?" Enid then speaks, giving me a hesitant smile. Like she herself doesn't believe what she said, but is hoping it's nothing more serious.

Knowing they will find out anyways sooner or later, and preferring they learn it from me, I decide to tell the truth.

"I got expelled." I grimace as the pain in my chest intensifies tenfold. Admitting it out loud makes it seem more real.

"WHAT?!" Is their simultaneous, and rather loud, response. I even jump a little.

"Yeah." I sigh in resignation.

"But they can't expel you! The school wouldn't be the same without you!" Anaid protests.

"There would be less accidents, that's for sure." I shrug dejectedly. "All the professors would be less grumpy, and Croix wouldn't get in trouble."

"Yeah, but everything would be so boring!" This time Enid speaks. "Honestly, if it wasn't for you I'd probably still think that studying is a waste of time, and would have gotten myself expelled a long time ago."

"And you _are_ a very talented witch!" Anaid continues enthusiastically. "I don't care what the teachers may say, but the way you defended us from that giant spider is truly something else."

"Body strengthening magic isn't exactly the most conventional way for a witch to fight." I answer, remembering how Finnelan chastised me from my recklessness on that occasion.

"But you're also good at metamorphosis magic." Enid argues, but her words only serve to remind me of my failure from the previous day.

"Only on myself."

"No one can fly like you do." Anaid adds.

"And maybe that's a good thing." I deadpan. Really, my ribs still hurt because of the fall I took.

"Chariot! Why can't you see you are special?!" Enid yells, obviously frustrated.

"Yeah, your magic is… something else." Her sister continues. "I can't even describe it properly, but the point is… you are probably the best witch in this academy, even if those old hogs with their noses stuck on their ancient books and traditions can't see it."

"Honestly, I wished I was like everyone else." I admit. "I wished I could stick to traditions and stop doing pointless and flashy magic." I sigh (something that's apparently becoming a habit of mine). "If I was like, I don't know, Croix, or my roommates, or even you, maybe I wouldn't be in this situation." I pause, feeling as my heart clenches painfully when I come to a terrible realization. "Everyone in this school is better than me."

And feeling my tears building up again, I run away.

* * *

I end up in my room without even knowing. But that's okay. I should probably start packing already, since I really don't see the point in staying until the Samhain festival; it'll just be torture for me, knowing I won't be able to stay here anyways. I much rather be with my aunt, in the comfort of my house than here being laughed at by my classmates.

And so, I get my suitcase out from under my bed, and cough because of how dusty it is. Geez, I don't think I've cleaned it since… well, _ever_. But that's okay, I have a lot of time now.

And so, I get one of my old t-shirts from inside the wooden chest where I keep my clothes, and start sweeping off the dust with it. After using water magic to moisten it, of course.

Once that's done, I look at my belongings, reluctant to start packing them, despite the resolution I came to just minutes ago. Because doing so will just make this all seem more real. I'm really getting expelled; this isn't just a dream, or an elaborate joke. It's not an illusion. I'm going to leave Luna Nova… forever.

I come to this realization as I stare at the uniforms stored in my chest. They are all wrinkled, and I don't bother trying to smooth them out as I furiously throw them into my suitcase. Though first I take the time to replace the clothes I'm wearing for cleaner ones. I don't want to look even more pathetic than I feel.

This is all so unfair. But it is as it is. There's nothing I can do about it.

Next are the few books I brought from home. Nothing special… until I grab the Nightfall volume Anaid gave me at my birthday. I remember her saying that this specific arc reminded her of me because the protagonist was struggling while stuck in the past, trying to fit in a society that wasn't ready for innovative ideas. I even made an effort to read it! And I remember that, at the end, she realizes that, no matter what she does, she can't really change the society, but at least she can inspire the ones around her and hope in time they will inspire others to be better too. I thought it was a touching message, and it really resonated with me. But… what do you do when you're no longer permitted to be with the people you want to inspire?

Feeling tears burning in my eyes again, I throw the book into my suitcase and wipe my eyes with my sleeve. _Stop!_ I scream in my head. _I don't want to cry anymore._

As it's just my luck, in that very moment the room's door opens and Amelia and Karen walk in, stopping dead in their tracks as they watch me and my messy suitcase lying on the ground. In the middle of the room.

I wince. They are the last people I wanted to see right now. And now they will probably chastise me for making a mess on top of mocking me from getting expelled. Heck! I'm pretty sure they'll throw a party once I'm gone, and invite at least half of the school to celebrate my departure.

"So… you really got yourself expelled, huh?" Karen says unimpressed, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning. At this, Amelia elbows her in the ribs and glares at her. Then she turns to look at me with a somewhat apologetic expression.

"We heard rumors, but we didn't believe they were true." She says, and then looks at me expectantly as if waiting for my confirmation. Knowing there's no way to delay this conversation any longer, I sigh and turn to glare at the contents of my suitcase as I speak.

"Well, they are. You can start celebrating now." I say with a scowl, as I feel a painful tightness on my chest that I don't really understand completely.

There's a small pause, as they process my words, and then Karen goes to sit on her bed before speaking nonchalantly.

"Well then, what's the plan?"

"Huh?" I ask as I turn around to stare at her with a confused expression. To my surprise, her smile isn't mocking, but rather… gentle? This all gets even weirder when Amelia goes to sit next to her wearing an equal expression.

"We figured you wouldn't go without a fight." Amelia explains with a little shrug.

"And we'd prefer if you explained the plan to us so we can help you before it gets out of control." Karen ads, crossing her arms over her chest in what she probably thinks is a stern manner, but the sad smile that won't leave her face reveals how she truly feels.

I'm too stunned to respond immediately, but when my mind finally manages to process their words, I almost scream in astonishment, unbelieving of what I'm hearing.

"Wait, you are willing to _help_ me?!"

"Better do it now than having to do damage control later." Karen says matter-of-factly.

"Plus, we're your…" Amelia pauses, hesitating as the turns to look at her friend, before smiling satisfied with what she sees in her. "Friends." She finishes.

" _Obligated_ friends." Karen adds, trying to be as cold as always. "And besides, if you go, they'll probably assign someone else to be our roommate. And with our luck she'll be worse than you."

"At least now you pick up your clothes instead of leaving them littered on the floor." Amelia chuckles.

" _And_ we've already gotten used to your weird sleeping habits." Karen adds.

"So… will you tell us the plan, or do we have to interrogate your friends?" Amelia finishes, still smiling at me.

I can only open and close my mouth like a fish out of water, with no words coming out of it. I thought they hated me! Well, no, that's a lie. After the broom race I thought they tolerated me at best, but for the way they still chastised me and my friends, sometimes even accusing us with Finnelan, I figured they still held some sort of bad feelings towards me. But now I find out they're actually fond of me? And willing to help?!

Unconsciously, I turn to look at the photo that's hanging on the wall next to my bed. The one where the three of us are, with me in the middle holding up the trophy. I'd be lying if I said that's not one of the fondest memories I have of Luna Nova. The day I showed my roommates that I could make an effort and be at their level. That I wouldn't hold them back. The day I earned their respect… and apparently their friendship too.

But then… that means I have to say goodbye to two friends, not to a pair of mean roommates that hate me. Honestly, right now I would prefer the later. I don't want this to hurt even more. I don't want to upset them or disappoint them when I say I don't really have a plan. But what else can I say? No matter what I do now, I'm already expelled. I'm going out of Luna Nova and there's nothing any of my friends can do about it.

I have to say goodbye.

The thought is enough to overwhelm me with sadness once again, and I end up running out of the room in tears.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that was an emotional rollercoaster, wouldn't you say? And yet it's nothing compared with what's about to come lol. I hope you liked it nontheless, and if you did please leave a review/fav/follow. Thanks for reading! :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


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